News from the Lone Star State

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[TexasStooge]

Dallas braces for Sunday protest

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The City of Dallas is making safety preparations for Sunday's immigration protest march, which could draw as many as 150,000 participants.

Participants will gather as early as 11 a.m. at the Cathedral Guadalupe on Ross Avenue.

The march to City Hall Plaza is planned to begin at 1 o'clock and will wrap up with a massive civil rights rally.

It won't be easy getting around downtown Dallas Sunday because of the ancipated crowds. Some retailers are closing or limiting hours to avoid any problems.

The Central Library across from Dallas City Hall will be closed on Sunday.

News 8 will offer a live streaming video coverage of the march on WFAA.com starting at 1 p.m.

A special, extended edition of Channel 8's early newscast will air from 5 to 6 p.m.

[TexasStooge]

Carjacking target run over by own car

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas — A Garland man was seriously injured late Thursday when a group of teens tried to steal his car. Police said four suspects were in custody.

The victim, identified as Teodoro Diaz, 26, was run over by his own vehicle as the suspects fled.

A Garland police officer heard a commotion from the Park Ridge Apartments in the 1800 block of South Glenbrook Drive about 10:45 p.m. Thursday. She saw several men fighting; they began to flee when the patrol car approached.

Diaz was lying on the ground in front of a car, which started rolling forward and pinned him before the officer could stop it.

Diaz was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital for surgery. He was reported in serious and guarded condition Friday morning.

Investigators said Diaz had been sitting in the car with his brother, Eovoteo, when the four teens approached—apparently intending to steal their car. A fight ensued.

Police said one of the attempted carjackers got in the car, put it in drive and jumped out before it struck Diaz.

Four suspects were being held in the Garland jail Friday morning in connection with the assault. They were identified as:

• Juan Camarillo, 18
• Carlos Camarillo, 17
• Marco Villarreal, 17
• Martin Fuentes, 17

Police said the four teens were charged with aggravated robbery, a first degree felony which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Teodoro Diaz' brother was not injured.

[TexasStooge]

'Bittersweet' verdict in Schlosser case

McKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A Plano woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms was found not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity in her retrial Friday.

Police arrested Dena Schlosser in November 2004 after finding her baby Margaret dying in her crib and Schlosser covered in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn. Schlosser will be sent to the maximum security Vernon State Mental Hospital.

Schlosser, 38, glanced toward her former stepfather but didn't say anything as bailiffs led her away after the verdict.

"We have a just verdict in a just case, but yes, it is bittersweet," defense attorney David Haynes said. "She wanted to be sent to the state hospital in Vernon. She feels it is her best chance to get better."

A judge issued the verdict after brief proceedings. Defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed last week to have Judge Chris Oldner decide the case after a jury deadlocked in February, forcing a mistrial.

The case hinged on whether Schlosser had severe mental problems that kept her from knowing the wrongfulness of the crime—the Texas standard for insanity. Last week it was revealed that Schlosser had a brain tumor that defense attorneys said could have caused hallucinations before the killing, but neither the tumor nor any other evidence was discussed Friday.

Both sides waived closing arguments, and the judge ruled based on evidence presented in the first trial.

Prosecutor Curtis Howard said he thought Schlosser was guilty, and that there wasn't enough evidence to prove insanity. He said the fact Schlosser told her husband afterward that she had "killed the baby" proved she knew what she was doing.

"This is a case that could have gone both ways; we knew that," Howard said.

Schlosser will be sent to the Vernon hospital for 30 days, then the hospital will issue a report on her mental health and a judge will decide whether she needs to be recommitted. If she is recommitted, a judge will review another report after six months, then another each year she's hospitalized after that. She could be released if she's deemed not to be a threat to herself or others.

"My own expectation is that she will remain at the hospital for many, many years," Haynes said.

Bob Nicholas, Schlosser's former stepfather who helped raised her and was the only relative in attendance Friday, said the verdict was the best possible scenario.

"This whole case, this whole situation with Dena, was a tragedy," Nicholas said. "We've got the loss of Maggie, who never reached her first birthday. We've got two little girls coping with the loss of their sister and of a loving, caring mother."

John Schlosser, Schlosser's husband, has filed for divorce and has custody of the couple's two other daughters.

Dena Schlosser's tumor was a new element in the defense's argument, which had focused on her psychological disorders. Several psychiatrists in her first trial testified that Schlosser lost touch with reality, suffered severe mood swings and experienced religious hallucinations and delusions.

While one witness alluded to a possible brain lesion, miscommunication between doctors delayed further testing until three weeks after the mistrial. A neurologist's confirmation of a brain tumor gave the defense another argument, which it presented at a hearing March 31.

During her first trial, one doctor said Schlosser told him she wanted to cut off her baby's arms and her own limbs and head and give them to God. Other medical testimony referenced erratic behavior and hallucinations, including apostles rising out of blood-filled streets to herald the apocalypse.

The defense in the first trial faulted Schlosser's husband for not getting her adequate mental health treatment and also blamed her preacher, Doyle Davidson, who believes only God can cure mental illness. The state argued the defense was trying to deflect responsibility from Schlosser and said she knew killing her baby was wrong.

After 42 hours of deliberations, the jury deadlocked Feb. 25, with 10 of the 12 agreeing she was insane. Some of those jurors attended Friday retrial, but declined to comment.

Schlosser is one of three Texas women to seek the insanity defense in recent high-profile cases after the deaths of their children.

Jurors rejected the insanity defense in 2002 for Andrea Yates, the Houston mother who confessed to killing her five children by drowning them in the family bathtub. She will again use the insanity defense in her June retrial.

In 2004 in East Texas, Deanna Laney was acquitted by reason of insanity after she was accused of stoning to death her 8-year-old and 6-year-old sons.

[TexasStooge]

Worker stabbed at Southlake restaurant

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A Southlake restaurant worker was under arrest Friday for allegedly stabbing a co-worker.

Police said the attack happened about 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kobeya Japanese Steak and Sushi Bar in the 1200 block of Main Street.

Witnesses said the workers were arguing before the victim was stabbed. Angel Nunez Ville, 43, of Dallas, staggered into the dining room and collapsed as patrons looked on in horror.

Ville was taken to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, where he was listed in serious condition Friday morning.

Police said the suspect, Moises Gonsales, 22, of Grapevine, was arrested less than a mile from the restaurant as he was walking home.

Investigators said it was not clear what prompted the argument that led to the attack.

Gonsales was being held in the Southlake jail awaiting arraignment on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Man invades home, sexually assaults child

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

MANSFIELD, Texas - Police are guarding a home as Mansfield police, FBI and the Texas Rangers search for a man wanted for a home invasion and sexual assault of a child.

Police and firefighters spent Thursday passing out fliers in hopes of catching the man. In the meantime, they have urged everyone to keep their guards up.

"It's overwhelming," said neighbor Roy Shipman.

Police said a man broke into the home and sexually assaulted a child in the middle of the night as the family slept.

"The juvenile victim did physically and verbally resist [and] then the suspect fled the scene," said Thad Penkala, Mansfield police public information officer.

The neighborhood is only three or four years old and is home to several families with children.

Authorities urged everyone to lock all doors and windows and set alarms.

"Sometimes people they think that, 'Well, my alarm system is only for when I'm not at home,' [but] it's for when they go to sleep also," Penkala said.

And while many are thinking of the young victim, it brings to light the harsh reality that crime knows no boundaries.

"It can happen to anybody anytime," said another neighbor. "People just need to be aware and try not to take things for granted."

The victim is young, so police did not get much of a suspect description. However, detectives are utilizing all resources to catch the man before he strikes again.

[TexasStooge]

U.T.A. students help fill Army shortages

By JEFF BRADY / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - Last year, the Navy and Marine Corps reached 100 percent of their overall recruiting goals for officers and enlisted personnel while the Air Force recruited 102 percent.

But the Army enlisted 92 percent, missing its target by 7,000 soldiers - the largest margin since 1979.

The U.S. Army needs to enlist 80,000 new soldiers this year - that despite two on-going conflicts in the Middle East, and a recruiting deficit from last year.

The M-16s are real and so is the likelihood these cadets will soon serve in a combat zone.

"The people that are going in now, they know the hazards, they know why they're doing it. There's really no ulterior motive for these guys to go in," said U.T.A. cadet Michael Lugo.

Ben Tassafaye has already served one tour of duty. Now he's moving up the military ladder. In December, he becomes an officer in the army reserves.

"One, you always have a job, and there's no better time to show how patriotic you are for your country," he says.

An Army cookout on campus is one way recruiters are reaching out to talk with students about military service.

They have to work harder now to attract soldiers and officer candidates, in light of a strong job market and war overseas.

"I thought about it, but ever since we got in the war in Iraq, I don't wanna go over there. I don't mind fighting, but I don't wanna die," says U.T.A. sophomore U.J. Ogbonna.

"We definitely have room to grow, it changes month to month, whether we reach our goals," said Kim Levine from the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in Dallas.

The R.O.T.C. program at U.T. Arlington is helping close the gap in officer recruiting, with 120 cadets enrolled, the highest since 9/11.

"But I've never had anyone say that because of the war in Iraq of Afghanistan they were... quitting the program," said Wyatt Britten, a cadet battalion commander.

A cadet corps helping fulfill an Army shortage, with future officers fully aware of the dangerous duty ahead.

[TexasStooge]

Man fatally stabbed in Fort Worth

By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man in the 1600 block of Chambers Street on Friday afternoon.

Tamore Spriggs, 19, was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital about 4 p.m., where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Police had not made any arrests, and the motive for the stabbing remains unclear.

[TexasStooge]

Strayhorn tells media execs partisanship must end

HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Independent Texas gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn told media executives at an annual conference Saturday that political partisanship in Texas must end, immigration laws should be enforced and educating the state's children should be the priority.

“I shall die a Texas independent,” said Strayhorn, a former Republican who serves as Texas comptroller and is collecting signatures to get on the November ballot as an independent. “I think that this governor has so politically fractured this state that the only way to get something done is to set aside the partisan politics.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's spokesman, Robert Black, said Strayhorn keeps promising specific solutions but has failed to deliver.

“Thus far all she has given Texas is shrill attacks on the governor,” he said. “Opposition is not a plan and criticism is not a solution.”

Independent candidates for governor have to gather signatures from 45,540 registered voters who did not cast ballots in the Republican or Democratic primaries. Musician and author Kinky Friedman also is trying to make the November ballot as an independent. He is scheduled to visit the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors conference Sunday.

Both Strayhorn and Friedman are running against Perry, a Republican, and former congressman Chris Bell, the Democrats' nominee for governor.

Perry and Bell discussed school finance and immigration reform on Friday at the conference.

A special legislative session on school finance reform is set for April 17.

Perry says he'll recommend a plan that reduces property taxes and pays for schools through a new broad-based business tax and a hike in cigarette taxes.

Strayhorn, who talked with the journalists Saturday, says teachers should be paid more, the state's standardized TAKS test should be moved from the spring to the fall so it is a true diagnostic test and that local police should “work with” the federal government in enforcing immigration law.

Strayhorn would not say what she meant by “work with.”

The Houston Police Department has a policy which prevents its street officers from asking a person's immigration status.

“If we pull someone over for a traffic citation, we will not ask their immigration status,” Houston police Sgt. Nate McDuell said Saturday. “We don't believe that is a local responsibility.”

Enforcing immigration law, McDuell said, is up to the federal government.

McDuell said police do assist when asked by federal authorities “or if we run across a situation where a serious crime has been committed, such as a house of immigrants being held against their will.”

Strayhorn said if elected she'll use whatever state resources are necessary to secure the state's border.

“I am adamantly opposed to illegal immigration and as governor, I will secure the border, the ports and the infrastructure,” she said. “We must do whatever is necessary to secure the border. And most certainly it takes our local police officers and our local law enforcement officials working with our state officials, working with the federal officials.”

Black said it is the federal government's responsibility to secure the border and that must occur before immigration reforms, such as considering asking local law enforcement to take a bigger role in enforcing immigration law.

Perry has directed $10 million toward securing Texas' border with Mexico, he said.

“It is the federal government's responsibly to secure the border, including ours, and they have not done a very good job of it,” Black said. “The federal government is going to have to step up.”

When it comes to education, Strayhorn says teachers must be paid more and legislators must find a solution to financing schools that works for both businesses and educators.

“Our Texas teachers are underpaid and underappreciated,” she said. “If we had a true pay-for-performance system in this state, then our educators and our teachers would be the highest paid and this governor would be the lowest paid. In fact, Rick Perry would owe us money back.”

Perry's performance pay proposal is still being developed, Black said. It would allow school districts to establish guidelines to increase teacher pay based on student performance.

Once the school finance issue is settled, he said, Perry plans to consider an across the board teacher pay raise.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth teacher accused of sex with 8-year-old

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A first-grade teacher was arrested after a student told authorities he had been sexually assaulting her for more than a year, police said.

Jose "Joe" David Soliz, 27, was arrested Friday on a warrant accusing him of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was being held in Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $25,000.

The 8-year-old student told her mother and authorities on Monday that Soliz had touched her inappropriately more than 20 times, according to an affidavit.

She said the abuse began during the last school year and continued this year, when she would visit the teacher's classroom at Worth Heights Elementary School during lunch, the affidavit stated.

Authorities said other students may have witnessed the abuse.

"After interviewing the victim and some of their preliminary interviews with other students, it appears some of this contact may have occurred in the presence of other students," Fort Worth Police spokesman Lt. Dean Sullivan said. "The child care team is continuing to interview other students that may have been in contact with the educator to determine if there are any more victims outstanding."

Soliz resigned Tuesday but said he felt pressured to do so. "We sent a letter requesting the district rescind the resignation within two hours of it happening," said Tanya Dawson, an attorney with the United Educators Association, which is representing Soliz. "We are still in discussions regarding that."

Defense attorney Reagan Wynn said Soliz "absolutely denies any of these allegations and he is just horrified anyone had made an accusation that he would do anything to harm a child. This is someone whose devoted his life to being an educator."

The district hired Soliz in August 2002 and found no problems during a background check, district spokeswoman Barbara Griffith said.

[TexasStooge]

Thousands expected for immigration protests

From WFAA ABC 8

Tens of thousands of people were expected to take part in Sunday's immigration protests through downtown Dallas and Fort Worth.

Some of the Dallas participants started the day at the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe for the traditional Palm Sunday mass.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week in the Catholic church, and some protesters said it is significant because it represents the journey Jesus Christ made before his death and resurrection.

"It means a lot because I'm an immigrant," said Carmine Palma, who planned to take part in the protest. "Now they're trying to make us criminals, so that's not fair."

Protest organizers encouraged marchers to bring American flags and to wear white, to symbolize peace.

The city of Dallas was gearing up for more than 100,000 protesters.

The march was scheduled to begin at Cathedral Guadalupe at 1 p.m., culminating in a rally at City Hall Plaza.

Organizers will lead the crowd down Ross Ave. to Griffin Street, then on Commerce Street and down Ervay Street to City Hall.

"I think the city is prepared," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said on Friday. "The city manager, the city attorney and the police chief have been having non-stop meetings to be ready for as many as 200,000 people on Sunday."

Thousands were to expected to attend a similar immigration rally in downtown Fort Worth on Sunday.

The route will begin at the Old Tarrant County Courthouse at 1:30 p.m., go south on Main Street, turn west on 9th, merging onto 10th.

It was schedule to conclude with a rally at the Federal Courthouse on Lamar.

News 8 will provide comprehensive coverage of Sunday's rallies in a special, expanded edition of the news from 5 to 6 p.m. You can also watch live, streaming video coverage on WFAA.com starting at 1 p.m.

[TexasStooge]

Decades-old pay dispute could cost Dallas $1 billion

Did referendum fix forever salary differences in ranks?

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A pay dispute between Dallas and its public safety workers over a referendum passed when Jimmy Carter was president could cost the city more than a billion dollars.

The city has lost almost every major court ruling in the dispute. Lawsuits on the matter are on appeal while the Texas Supreme Court weighs sovereign immunity issues, but legal experts say the cases could be a ticking financial time bomb for Dallas.

"I think the city is in definite danger," said Ken Molberg, an attorney who helped police and firefighters draft the original language in the referendum but who is not involved in the lawsuits.

"The city has a big old target on it," he said. "If they're wrong, that means that you and me are on the hook for a whole lot of money."

In 1979, police and firefighters contend, Dallas voters promised that the percentage differences in their pay would stay the same every time the City Council doled out more money.

In other words, the salary gap between ranks would remain the same when a raise was approved; for example, if a recently recruited patrol officer got a 5 percent raise, then so should a lieutenant.

In the mid-'90s, a group of firefighters filed suit after they claimed the ordinance had not been properly followed and their pay raises had not kept pace with those of higher-ranking personnel. Other lawsuits followed.

At issue is whether the referendum promised the pay differential for one year or forever.

"What truly counts is, what did the voters intend," said City Attorney Tom Perkins. "This referendum was about a one-time 15 percent raise for police officers and firefighters."

Were the pay differential honored, attorneys suing the city estimate that Dallas could owe back pay and interest of $1 billion or more to public safety workers. City officials dispute that projection but have provided none of their own.

"The city is hoping that the courts will rescue them," said Robert Lyon, a Rowlett attorney representing police and firefighters in two class-action suits. "They're down on bended knee saying please save us from our own stupidity."

On the ballot

In 1978, frustrated public safety workers took their fight for better pay to voters after the City Council rejected a request for a $40 a month emergency raise for police and firefighters.

At the time, federal labor statistics showed a Dallas family of four needed to make $15,300 – $400 more than the annual salary for a veteran police officer or firefighter – to avoid living in poverty.

"We qualified for food stamps," said Bobby Joe Dale, a former Dallas Police Association president.

Police and firefighters gathered 80,000 petition signatures and forced a begrudging City Council to call a special election.

The pay referendum was the "strong mayor" issue of its time. The debate focused on the 15 percent pay raise voters were being asked to approve – not the differential provision and any potential long-term consequences. The business establishment overwhelmingly opposed putting the pay increase to a popular vote. Newspapers editorialized against it. Politicos warned it would bring financial calamity and "spell the end of manager-council form of government."

"They went up against the power structure of the city," said Jim Ewell, a former Dallas Morning News reporter and retired Sheriff's Department spokesman. "Nobody gave them a chance in hell to win."

The city commissioned a respected accounting firm to analyze the proposal's impact. The study recommended that the city hire independent legal counsel to interpret the "differential" clause before the election. It does not appear that the city did so.

On Jan. 20, 1979, voters decisively approved the referendum. As it required, the City Council soon passed an ordinance to implement the raises – at least 15 percent for all public safety workers – and authorize the differential provision.

Whether through intent or happenstance, the city largely maintained the differentials for the first few years – the percentage gap between the salaries of all the ranks remained about the same.

But in 1988, police and fire deputy chiefs became angry because the gap between their pay and that of the next lower rank had narrowed. "We wanted them to make it right," said Bobby Moore, a retired deputy fire chief.

City management "basically said that's too bad" in a meeting with police deputies, said police Capt. Troy McClain, a deputy chief at the time. "But shortly after that, we got a memo from Jan Hart, stating that they had decided that the differential would be maintained."

The city capitulated.

An Aug. 1, 1988, memo from Ms. Hart, who was then first assistant city manager and later city manager, stated that the city would fix the pay scale. The city quietly disbursed back pay to some of them.

In a deposition years later, Ms. Hart disavowed the 1988 memo, saying that it did not reflect her opinion and claiming it might not have been signed by her.

So why did the city pay the deputy chiefs and raise their pay? "It's quite possible it was simply to make some employees happy who were unhappy," she said in the deposition.

Again, in 1991, Police Chief Bill Rathburn ordered that nine police executives receive raises based on the clause.

In an interview, Mr. Rathburn said, "Mary Suhm was my senior administrative person, and anything like that that I would have signed would have come from Mary Suhm." She was then a top civilian manager in the Police Department and is now city manager.

These were not the only times that city officials acted to correct imbalances citing the 1979 pay referendum as a justification. Mr. Perkins, the current city attorney, said city officials "were mistaken" in those earlier interpretations.

In March 1993, firefighter Joe Betzel filed a grievance on behalf of about 250 firefighters who said their raises had not been comparable to those of firefighters with similar ranks.

Assistant City Manager Ted Benavides, who later became city manager, denied the grievance, saying there was no significant problem with the pay structure. But records show the city did order small raises for some firefighters and police officers after it determined that the pay referendum required it.

On June 30, 1994, the firefighters sued, saying Dallas had not abided by the 1979 referendum. It soon spawned related lawsuits covering virtually every police officer and firefighter.

"They called our bluff, and they lost," Mr. Betzel said.

Early on in court filings, the city did not contest the idea that the differential clause had lasting implications. Instead, Dallas officials contended that the referendum prohibited the city from decreasing the pay gap but not from increasing it.

The city also countersued in 1995, claiming that if the plaintiff's argument was correct – that the city had failed to follow the terms of the referendum – then no raises since the referendum were valid. Therefore, they argued, the city had overpaid firefighters and should be repaid.

In 1997, a state district judge found the ordinance did require the city to maintain the percentage pay differentials. He ordered the city to "bring itself into compliance."

The following year, the City Council approved a resolution to retroactively fix the pay scales for police and firefighters for each fiscal year back to 1990 to meet the referendum's requirements.

"The purpose of this action is to adjust salary schedules for those employees to ensure compliance with the referendum," Ms. Suhm, who was then an assistant city manager, wrote in a memo to the City Council.

State District Judge Robert Dry threw out the retroactive parts of the pay scales, saying the city's action violated the Texas Constitution.

In 1999, he ruled the city had been given enough time to fix the problem but had failed to do so.

The judge also ordered that the city pay 16 firefighters, including Mr. Betzel, a total of about $2 million in back pay and interest. Those 16 firefighters had been separated from the original lawsuit, although the original suit was also winding its way through court.

After the judge's ruling, city officials requested a new trial. In their motion, they contended that the referendum was a one-time pay raise and, in any case, didn't apply to the salaries of deputy chiefs and above because they are executives, a turnabout from earlier practice.

In June 2002, a Dallas state appeals court reversed Judge Dry's order to pay those firefighters. The court ruled that the ordinance was ambiguous and ordered a trial to determine what it meant.

Legal limbo

That case and the others remain in legal limbo, awaiting long-anticipated rulings from the Texas Supreme Court that could determine whether the city can use sovereign immunity to get the cases dismissed.

"The city is basically saying that the police and firefighters didn't have its permission to sue," said Bill Boyd, an attorney representing police and firefighters in several of the lawsuits.

Both sides are awaiting a ruling on a case involving a water main break in 2000 that flooded the downtown Santa Fe Terminal Lofts. In the aftermath, Reata Construction sued Dallas, contending the city gave them faulty information about the main's location, leading it to accidentally puncture the main.

At question in the Reata case – and in the pay lawsuits – is whether the city waived its right to sovereign immunity when it countersued.

"When you take your little happy rear-end to the courthouse and say, 'Hey, judge I want you to help me,' it seems patently unfair" to ask for help, and then claim that the city can't be sued, said Michael Shaunessy, an Austin lawyer who is an expert on sovereign immunity issues.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled against the city in the Reata case in April 2004. The city asked the court to reconsider but also dropped its counterclaims in the pay lawsuits that contended that public safety workers owed the city money. "We were trying to take it back," said James Pinson, an assistant city attorney handling the pay lawsuits.

The court has yet to rule in the rehearing of the Reata case.

Attorneys for the public safety workers say it is only a matter of time before the courts rule in their favor. City officials are also confident of victory.

Meanwhile, the pay lawsuits have created a kind of organizational inertia. City officials say the legal complications mean that while they await the final outcome they must be cautious about how salaries are raised. It has been 18 months since public safety officers received raises.

"There's a problem with the way the pay is structured across the board and that needs to be dealt with, but it can't be dealt with in the context of the legal environment," Ms. Suhm said.

The manpower-strapped Police Department has a tough time filling its vacancies, in part, because its low pay can't compete with better-paying suburbs.

"They're talking out of both sides of their mouth," Mr. Boyd said. "If they really believed the referendum was a one-time deal, they'd go ahead and give the entry level people a raise."

[TexasStooge]

Lancaster plans big things for small airport

By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News

LANCASTER, Texas - Lancaster Municipal Airport sits alone amid cotton and corn fields in southern Dallas County, a single landing strip and cozy cafe its only amenities.

But city officials say the smallish 306-acre airport can be transformed into the next Alliance Airport, Ross Perot Jr.'s economic engine in far North Fort Worth that is responsible for generating $26 billion since its 1990 opening.

They're not alone.

"I think Lancaster has a great shot at becoming a second Alliance," said Bill Blaydes, a Dallas council member and chairman of two groups that focus on trade in that area. "Everything is in place for it to happen."

The two groups – the River of Trade Corridor and the Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor coalitions – have made it their mission to protect trade in that southeastern corner of the North Texas region. Establishing more capacity for cargo airports is one of the groups' platforms.

Though there are some doubters, Lancaster officials believe some recent developments will boost their airport's chances of being a key component of southern Dallas County's predicted growth, including an airport expansion grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and a new city master plan calling for airport upgrades.

They list others factors as well:

Lancaster airport is within a few miles of Interstates 35, 45 and 20, and the future Loop 9 will hug its southern boundary.

A new $100 million, 350-acre Union Pacific intermodal railroad facility – which straddles Wilmer and Hutchins and is less than five miles from the Lancaster airport – opened earlier this year.

The Allen Group – a California-based investment company that specializes in industrial and distribution construction projects – has purchased about 4,500 acres and has options on about 1,500 more bordering the airport and the Union Pacific facility. The firm's holdings are divided among Lancaster, Dallas, Wilmer and Hutchins. Plans for a Burlington Northern-Santa Fe intermodal facility are in the preliminary stages, too. Other developers are carving up land in the sector.

Lancaster recently received a letter from the FAA finding a nearby Ellis County landfill compatible with flying operations at the airport. The FAA sometimes has concerns with airports that locate near landfills because birds congregate at those dumps, presenting a danger during takeoffs and landings.

Hangar space has more than doubled during the past three years. Plus, there's a waiting list for planes.

Private investment

Richard Allen, owner and CEO of The Allen Group, said private investment speaks for the promise of the area.

"We could develop up to 70 million square feet of space on our land. That means jobs – jobs in an area that has high unemployment," Mr. Allen said. "It would be a big help to what we're doing if there was a cargo airport there."

He said federal, state and local entities are lining up to help ensure the region's success. The FAA recently awarded Lancaster a $333,334 grant for airport expansion. Immediate plans will expand the runway from 5,000 linear feet to 6,500 and eventually to 8,000.

David Fulton, director of the Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division, said the Lancaster airport has a "very bright future." The division doles out the FAA money allocated to general aviation airports. "Corporate aviation is beginning to discover the southern sector," Mr. Fulton said.

City Manager Jim Landon said the airport's development is following two tracks: one for corporate jet traffic, the other for cargo flights.

Neighboring cities support Lancaster as well.

DeSoto Mayor Michael Hurtt said corporate executives could live in his town.

"It cements a quality market for this area," Mr. Hurtt said. "And if an Alliance takes place, think of all the other developments that surround that airport. That could happen here."

For example, Alliance is home to more than 140 companies that employ 24,000 workers. More than 2 million square feet of office space has been developed there, and the airport has spurred the construction of 5,200 homes.

The roadblocks

While funding agencies have little doubt the Lancaster airport will grow, they're not convinced it could become another Alliance. Or that it needs to be.

Mike Nicely, the manager of the FAA's Texas Airport Development Office, said the FAA bases funding on demonstrated need.

"We need to be shown that there is sufficient cargo business for that airport," Mr. Nicely said. "I don't know if there's a need for another cargo airport in this region."

He said Alliance's construction was based on a North Central Texas Council of Governments study that revealed holes in the North Texas' aviation network. A similar regional airport study may be in the works.

But former Fort Worth Mayor Bob Bolen, who was in office when that city approved Alliance, also questions the viability of a second huge cargo airport in the area.

"You need the critical mass before it becomes a reality," Mr. Bolen said. "Ten years or 20 years down the road, maybe. But not now."

Mike Berry, president of Mr. Perot's Hillwood Properties, which developed Alliance Airport, said he was unfamiliar with Lancaster airport and its development potential. But he noted that with Alliance, Fort Worth's ability to fund debt to extend services there was an integral part of the development. Even today, 16 years after it opened, Alliance is only about 30 percent developed, Mr. Berry said.

However, Lancaster officials and Mr. Allen said financing options are available, including increment financing districts and tax incentives.

Lancaster's Mr. Landon said his city already has water and sewer available to the airport. A recently completed water tower would allow Lancaster to easily extend services to any airport expansions or private developments, he said.

And David Dean of Dean International, the consultant hired for the two coalitions, notes that Lancaster does have one advantage that Alliance didn't have: It's airport is already in place.

"Clearly, Perot was visionary in starting Alliance," Mr. Dean said. "But I think there's room for at least two cargo airports."

[TexasStooge]

Tech had big plans for library

After Bush bid rejected, other schools say they'll do whatever it takes

By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON / The Dallas Morning News

Texas Tech University planned to spare no expense in constructing the George W. Bush Presidential Library, as the school and its partners pledged to raise $500 million for the project.

Tech's proposal, recently released to The Dallas Morning News, called for building far and away the country's most expensive presidential center. But the selection committee wasn't dazzled by dollar signs, eliminating the West Texas coalition last month.

Although Tech was dropped, its plan to raise half a billion dollars illuminates the high stakes for the three schools left vying for the Bush library.

Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Dallas have not revealed their fundraising strategies, but school officials and supporters say they will collect whatever it takes to win over the Bush family.

"At SMU, we have a very strong heritage and legacy of fundraising in Dallas and in Texas and across the nation, and we feel like SMU would be a very strong partner in a fundraising process," said Brad Cheves, SMU's vice president for development and external affairs.

Billionaire businessman Harold Simmons offered a more succinct summation, saying Dallas is best-equipped to raise the money because the city is "richer."

"I don't think it will be easy ... but if anybody can do it, Dallas can do it," he said.

Mr. Simmons has pledged $1 million toward the library if SMU is selected.

SMU and Baylor officials said they did not include definitive fundraising totals in their plans, adding that President Bush has the final word on the scope of the project.

Panel offers no specifics

The selection panel asked schools their plans for raising the millions required to build and endow the library, but the guidelines provided no specifics about how much is needed.

The newest addition to the Presidential Library System, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, has been open for 16 months and cost $165 million to build.

The Bush library is expected to cost more than $200 million.

Tommye Lou Davis, chairwoman of Baylor's library committee, said school officials have refrained from speculating about the project's price tag but added that the Clinton library provided a useful road map for how much construction might cost.

She said Baylor backers would "step up to the plate," and she cited recent capital campaigns as evidence of the university's capabilities. "Baylor people are always committed to projects that we feel enhance the life of the institution," she said.

Bob Galecke, the University of Dallas' senior vice president for finance and administration, also expressed confidence in his school's ability to drum up support.

"We wouldn't be proposing and in the bidding process if we didn't feel we could be successful."

Officials from the three remaining schools declined to comment on Texas Tech's pledge to raise $500 million. Mr. Galecke said only that "it's a lot of money."

No timeline has been announced for naming the library site or launching the fundraising campaign. But the schools have quietly begun lining up financial commitments from prominent backers.

Former Gov. Bill Clements of Dallas, who has given millions to his alma mater, told SMU officials that he could be counted on to contribute to the library as well.

"I've given a hell of a lot of money to SMU already, so what's new?" he said in an interview.

"I've made it very clear – you put the presidential library here, I'm going to help you. And I think that others like [Dallas philanthropist] Peter O'Donnell and [Dallas oilman and SMU trustee] Ray Hunt and a lot of others here in town have done exactly the same thing. You put it in Dallas, we're going to help you."

SMU in the lead?

SMU has been considered the front-runner because of its many ties to the Bush family. But school officials have dismissed any suggestion that SMU has an advantage over the others.

The three finalists have carefully avoided criticizing their competitors. Mr. Clements, though, offered a frank assessment of the University of Dallas' prospects, calling the Irving school "a very odd choice."

"I just can't imagine that that would happen," he said. "It's just peculiar to me that they're even on the list. What connection do they have?"

Staff writer Todd J. Gillman in Washington contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Lay teachers take health education to the people

Irving: Community workers deliver lessons on disease prevention

By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - Her mom died of breast cancer at 56. Her brother's high blood pressure led to his death at 47. And her husband was diagnosed with diabetes at 35.

Yolanda Rodriguez believes their illnesses could have been prevented – or at least caught earlier.

Now she's on a mission to teach others how to take better care of themselves so that the same thing doesn't happen to them. The Irving resident is part of a growing nationwide network of promotores de salud, or lay health educators, who are trained to teach people about the risks and prevention of heart disease, diabetes and other maladies.

They participate in health fairs, organize church events and even set up at the neighborhood grocery store – anywhere they can have direct contact with people. They give a personal touch to the often-touchy subject of health care.

"It's satisfying to be able to help my community, to tell them the truth about all the health risks," Mrs. Rodriguez said. "I want to educate people."

It's this kind of one-on-one interaction that experts say could help make a dent in the country's growing health woes

A bridge to good health

Dr. Hector Balcazar, regional dean and professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at El Paso's UT School of Public Health, calls it the "bridge between the community and the health care system."

The city of Irving's bilingual health educator, Juan Carlos Reynoso, agrees. Mrs. Rodriguez, 44, recently trained in Spanish and English and completed the 40 hours of required community service. She's now helping him teach.

"If there's anybody who exemplifies the actual [community health worker] model, it's her," Mr. Reynoso said. "She's applying it, and she's making life-size changes."

During a recent class, she mixed a concoction of Indian and Mexican spices. The students – two men and a woman – watched as she measured chili powder, paprika, oregano, dry mustard and other seasonings to make a substitute for salt.

Francisco Leal, who made the trek from Denton for the class, said he decided to try the program after two friends died of diabetes. One lost a leg and an arm.

"We have to find a way to improve our quality of life," said Mr. Leal, 33. "Unfortunately, many of us only go to the doctor when something hurts, or we can't get up."

By then, it's often too late, he said.

The National Institutes of Health's Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute started a program 12 years ago called Salud para su Corazon, or For the Health of your Heart. The idea was to address heart disease and high blood pressure in the Latino community.

"The promotores live in the community and know the community," said Matilde Alvarado, coordinator for minority health and outreach at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. "We realized they would be the best vehicle."

Today, numerous grass-roots organizations, health departments and health care providers around the country have adopted similar efforts. Funded by grants, some programs are run with the help of volunteers and offer services for free.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration is in the middle of a two-year study of community health workers

State certification

In 2001, Texas became the first in the country to offer state certification for individuals in this field. Eight centers in Texas offer the certification, including Fort Worth's public health department. Irving's program does not, but it's no less vital, especially in minority communities where information about health care may be less accessible, Mr. Reynoso said.

That was evident one recent Saturday morning when a group of women, including Mrs. Rodriguez, set up a table at Irving's Saver Cost Plus Supermarket, a store that caters primarily to Hispanics.

The women – Indian, black, Hispanic and white – called out to shoppers entering the store. They handed out literature in Spanish and English about heart disease, stroke, diabetes and healthy cooking.

The willing shoppers sat down and had their blood pressure checked for free. Anyone who registered above normal was told to visit the nearest clinic as soon as possible.

Some of the volunteers were former nurses. Like Bharti Patel, who once practiced in her native country of India.

"Although I don't know Spanish, I'm trying to help," she said. "It's difficult sometimes to find people to work in the community."

She said the experience made her aware of the need to try a similar effort in the local Indian community.

Venita Pettus said she'd already spoken to her church board about forming a network of health educators to work with other churches.

"I took this class to learn how to relay this information to laypeople," she said.

It's precisely this kind of discussion that Mr. Reynoso wants to see more of.

"Each of these people belong to a network of friends," he said. "So they're going to be able to extend beyond the reach of the health department."

[TexasStooge]

Dallas official agrees to become Irving's city manager

Bilingual administrator has also worked in Lubbock, Harlingen

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - An assistant Dallas city manager with military experience will be Irving's next chief executive.

Tommy Gonzalez will start as city manager by May 1. He said he's honored to have the job and wants to make a difference.

"You don't get these opportunities every day," the 39-year-old said Friday evening. "I'm very excited about the opportunity."

Irving City Council members applauded Mr. Gonzalez's experience and leadership and said they are eager for him to get to work.

Mr. Gonzalez will help make Irving a stronger city, Mayor Herbert Gears said.

"I'm so excited for the future of our city," he said. "I know our citizens are going to be so happy with our selection."

Mr. Gonzalez will be paid an annual salary of about $181,200 and receive an annual automobile allowance of $4,800.

The council voted Thursday night to approve an employment agreement and gave Mr. Gonzalez until Friday to decide. The vote came despite concerns from some residents about his performance in a previous job.

Mr. Gonzalez, who is bilingual, has served as Lubbock's interim city manager and Harlingen's city manager. He's been at Dallas City Hall since the fall. He's served in the military since 1988, and Irving leaders acknowledge that he might have to take a leave of absence to serve in the Army reserve.

Mr. Gonzalez's acceptance ends a weeklong back-and-forth about his intentions. Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm said earlier this week that Mr. Gonzalez wrote her to say that he planned to continue working for Dallas in his current capacity.

Mr. Gonzalez on Friday said he reconsidered the Irving position after the suburb approached him with a stronger offer that benefits his family if he were deployed. In his contract, Irving agrees to pay the difference between his military pay and his city employee salary.

"Irving's commitment to me and my family were big indicators to me that I needed to rethink this," Mr. Gonzalez said. "I had to think about my kids and my wife."

Ms. Suhm had no comment Friday but informed the Dallas City Council about Mr. Gonzalez's decision in a memo. Dallas will launch a nationwide search for a new assistant city manger, she said.

In Irving, some residents expressed concerns about Mr. Gonzalez's performance in Lubbock, where he was at the center of a grievance filed by a laid-off employee who alleged age and gender discrimination.

Mr. Gonzalez on Friday said he stands by the decisions he made in Lubbock and had to address a budget shortfall.

Irving council members interviewed a handful of city manager candidates before naming Mr. Gonzalez as their top choice.

In Irving, Mr. Gonzalez will oversee a general fund budget of about $145 million and a staff of about 2,000 employees.

Staff writer Dave Levinthal contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Student won't let fire destroy spirit

Irving: 19-year-old trying to cope with mom's injuries, starting over

By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - The fire still invades Brandon Green's senses: the taste, the smell, the bright orange flames.

In the days after a fire destroyed the condo where he and his mother lived, he woke easily in the night whenever he heard a noise.

"While I'm in class, I just sit there and think about it," the Irving High School senior said.

In the back room at the school's Marine Corps JROTC building where he trains, he pulls the service uniform he once wore to school every week from a bag. The khaki shirt is a dirty dark color and smells of smoke. But he found his dress blues in its dry cleaning bag undamaged a day later. They're among the few treasured items he saved.

The 19-year-old remembers watching a movie in bed on the second floor of the condo when he smelled smoke after 10 p.m. March 16.

At first, he suspected a candle. He went to his mother's bedroom.

"Do you smell anything?"

He walked downstairs and saw flames in the kitchen.

"Fire, fire!" he screamed.

As he searched for a fire extinguisher, he could hear his mother, Melinda Green, 41, talking with a 911 dispatcher upstairs. He threw a laundry basket full of clothes out a back door. He went upstairs to check on his mother, who was searching for their miniature dachshund, Katie.

He went downstairs to search but then returned upstairs.

"Jump out the window," he told his mother.

"I can't," she told him. "I need to save the dog."

He went downstairs to check on the fire and returned. He grabbed her hand, but she fell. She kept searching for Katie.

He went downstairs again and saw the couch in flames. The heat and smoke pushed him back. He began to gasp for air. He no longer heard his mother's voice. He assumed she'd jumped.

"I dived out the window."

His mother wasn't there.

He doesn't remember how he landed in the grass, but his right side was sore the next day. He screamed fire, and a neighbor came running with an extinguisher.

Firefighters had to carry his mother out of the house. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital. Ms. Green, who often walks dogs at a local animal shelter, had risked her life for their pet. Katie was dead.

Brandon now drives every morning and every evening to the burn unit at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Ms. Green suffered third-degree burns over a third of her body and has had two skin grafts so far. She spoke for the first time since the fire on Wednesday and then only in a whisper.

Brandon's mother usually throws her cigarette ashes in the garbage each night. He thinks that's how the fire began. The Fire Department ruled the blaze an accident. Damage was estimated at $50,000.

Brandon is trying to stay strong for his mother and focus on his prom and high school graduation just weeks away.

He's one of the team commanders for his JROTC drill team and color guard unit and an Irving Explorer. Less than a week after the fire, he fulfilled his promise to volunteer at a campus health fair, where he was the student chairman. His goal is to become a police officer.

The JROTC unit has plenty of pictures of him – standing at attention, working on a rifle, holding his arms folded beside an American flag.

The Red Cross has helped the family, as have organizations connected with the Marines, school officials and his mother's employer, McBride Electric. They have given gift cards, prayers, furniture and money. Brandon's grandmother, Betty Buchanan, 58, who lives near Waco, moved into an Irving apartment with him.

Ms. Buchanan said she was thankful for all the support, including a gift certificate from an elementary school.

"I'm taking care of Brandon, or he's taking care of me," she said. "He's a good kid. ... We're taking care of each other."

She said her daughter has a "long, hard road" in front of her.

JROTC Sgt. Maj. Ruben Pereida continues to collect gift certificates and items such as kitchenware for the new apartment.

Starting over is what's most difficult, Brandon said.

"Some people probably wouldn't be able to cope, but he's maintaining everything," Sgt. Maj. Pereida said of Brandon. "I'm very proud of him. ...We're a family within a family here. We try to provide guidance on keeping the faith up."

Brandon's dream is for his mother to be well enough to attend his graduation.

"We're going to try our hardest," Brandon said. "All I have to do now is get through final exams."

[TexasStooge]

Thousands flood Dallas streets

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Immigrants and supporters flooded the streets of downtown Dallas Sunday afternoon for the immigration rally many called the Great Awakening.

People began lining up as early as 7:00 a.m. in the front of the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin Guadalupe waving American flags, dressed in white as a sign of peace and ready to send a message.

As the throng of people grew larger, police opened the gates early around 12:52 p.m. to make way for more people. The beginning of the march set off a parade of protestors that snaked around streets and buildings through downtown chanting "Yes, we can!" in Spanish and "USA."

The sea of what police estimated was up to 500,000 people began marching from the cathedral, down Ross Avenue to Griffith Street and ended at City Hall.

An hour after the march began, protestors at the front of the line were greeted to the sounds of Neil Diamond's "They're Coming to America" as they reached their final destination. But while people were already dancing to Latino music at the steps of City Hall, many people in the back of the lines still hadn't taken a step.

"Dallas, Fort Worth, metroplex, you came through," said Domingo Garcia, the march organizer, as people poured in to watch speakers.

Two hours after the march began, the stream of protestors were all gathered.

"Today the Latino community has said enough is enough," said Hector Flores, LULAC, as he spoke to the crowd. "We're going to take a stand for fairness and justice and we will not back down."

Speakers said America was a nation built by immigrants and built with their sweat, which they continue to do today.

"We are building America and the concretes, and the buildings, and the hotels, and the restaurants," Garcia said.

Along with the protestors, police officers hovered overhead in helicopters and patrolled the streets on horses and cars.

While the crowd appeared to be in good spirits during the march, there were a few opposing protestors present that resulted in a few tense moments..

Police brought out their riot gear and pepperball guns when a group of counter demonstrators taunted the crowd and protestors spoke back and threw water bottles. The SWAT team was also brought in and barricaded the area.

A large law enforcement presence was at the rally with about 550 Dallas police officers and 200 sheriff's deputies present. Officers stood in between those marching and the opponents of the rally that held signs that read "No amnesty."

George P. Bush, the nephew of President George W. Bush, was among several scheduled to speak at the rally.

Earlier participants started the day at the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe for the traditional Palm Sunday mass.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week in the Catholic church, and some protesters said it is significant because it represents the journey Jesus Christ made before his death and resurrection.

"It means a lot because I'm an immigrant," said Carmine Palma, who planned to take part in the protest. "Now they're trying to make us criminals, so that's not fair."

Thousands also gathered wearing white in Fort Worth and their message was the same.

Fort Worth has had large rallies before, including one in 1993 when thousands filled Main Street during a civil rights rally organized by a North Texas radio station. But Sunday's march will probably go down as the largest in the city's history.

"My father was born in Mexico," said protestor Mary Gonzales. "He came here. He became a citizen and joined the army. He fought in the war. And I am proud to have become an American citizen and I want everyone to be able to have the right to do that."

Another protestor also talked about a loved one who fought for America.

"This flag was flown in Iraq while my husband was there on his second tour," said a protestor caring an American flag. "His family came here as illegal immigrants and he fights for our country and fights for his parents also."

The city of Dallas was gearing up for more than 100,000 protesters.

The march was scheduled to begin at Cathedral Guadalupe at 1 p.m., culminating in a rally at City Hall Plaza.

Organizers will lead the crowd down Ross Ave. to Griffin Street, then on Commerce Street and down Ervay Street to City Hall.

"I think the city is prepared," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said on Friday. "The city manager, the city attorney and the police chief have been having non-stop meetings to be ready for as many as 200,000 people on Sunday."

Dallas Area Rapid Transit said rally organizers had arranged for shuttle bus service from three locations:

• Gate 13 at Fair Park, near the Smirnoff Music Centre

• Townview Center school, 1201 East 8th Street in Oak Cliff

• Stemmons Towers, on Stemmons Freeway near Motor Street

Dallas police said they had no plans to stop traffic on downtown streets during the event, but once the march begins, officers on horseback, motorcycle and on foot will close intersections as protesters approach.

Police asked anyone planning to attend the rally to leave home early and to have patience.

Rebecca Lopez, Chris Heinbaugh, Carol Cavazos and the Dallas Morning News contributed to this report

[TexasStooge]

Fire destroys Lancaster church

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

LANCASTER, Texas — A Lancaster church was forced to hold Palm Sunday services in a new location after fire destroyed its main sanctuary Saturday night.

A second building at Johnson Chapel Community Church, at Bluegrove Road and Main Street, was not damaged in the fire. It houses the church's Life Center and gymnasium.

Senior Pastor Dr. Karen Hollie said the congregation is already looking toward the future. "It is difficult to see, but we know that things will be okay," she said. "We understand that devastation happens, and we are extremely devastated by it."

Investigators said the fire started in the attic of the sanctuary.

Palm Sunday services were held at the Lancaster ISD Fourth Grade Center on West Ridge Avenue.

[TexasStooge]

Teen dies, girl burned in Fort Worth fire

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 14-year-old boy died Sunday night after fire broke out in West Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley said the fire started just after 9 p.m. in a garage behind a house in the 2900 block of Olive Place.

A 12-year-old girl was seriously hurt in the blaze. A helicopter ambulance rushed her to Parkland Memorial Hospital's burn unit for treatment. She suffered first and second degree burns over 60 percent of her body.

The girl's 10-year-old brother was also injured. He was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

The garage had been converted into a TV room. Fire investigators said a gas can may have contributed to the blaze.

The names of the children were not released.