News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Brownie troop injured in trailer accident

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

MEXIA, Texas - Brownie Girl Scout troop members from southern Dallas were among a group of adults and children injured Saturday afternoon during a flatbed trailer ride at a Texas state park.

At least 14 children and adults were taking part in a wildflower tour at Fort Parker State Park near Mexia when the trailer they were riding on became unhitched and struck a tree.

The Tinejero girls are just 6 and 7, but right now they are walking like they are elderly after the accident left them battered and bruised.

"They're just in a lot of pain," said mother Nicole Tinejero. "She can't even walk right; she's got possible whiplash."

"I can't really turn my neck," Elizabeth Tinejero said.

One troop member was taken by CareFlite helicopter to Cook's Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, a parent was flown to Parkland Hospital in Dallas and another was also taken by helicopter to an unidentified hospital.

Several who were also injured were taken to Hillcrest Regional Medical Center in Waco, and others with less-severe injuries were treated and released from Limestone Medical Center in Groesbeck and Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia.

Elizabeth Tinejero recalled the moment the accident occurred.

"I remember that the trailer just came off," she said. "I was very worried about my grandma."

Her grandmother Glenda Alaniz was one of three transported by air ambulance. She protected little Elizabeth and suffered major bruising as she used her body to sheild her granddaughter from the trailer's metal rails.

"The truck kept going this way and we went that way," Alaniz said. "I think if she had hit that bar it would have killed her."

The Tejas Council of the Girl Scouts issued a statement that it takes safety very seriously, and is looking into the matter further.

The Tinejero family doesn't blame the scouts.

"I don't think they did anything wrong in this," Alaniz said. "Unfortunately, I have to blame the park rangers in driving the truck and not checking it out thoroughly."

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials refused to talk on camera, but issued a statement saying the vehicle hauling the trailer was driven by a volunteer host. They said the department is investigating the incident.

"We regret this incident occurred, and hope those who were injured will have a speedy recovery," State Parks Director Walt Dabney said in a statement.

"I know most trailers have a safety chain," Alaniz said. "If we had had the chain, even if it had popped off we would have stayed with the truck instead of veering across."

WFAA-TV's Jack Beavers contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Euless dad made threats before tragedy

Police say custody suit led man to kill tot, himself

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

EULESS, Texas – Two months ago, Johnny Khanthalangsy threatened to harm his 4-year-old daughter and himself. Police averted a tragedy when they arrested him for unlawfully carrying a weapon.

On Sunday, police were not able to stop the 24-year-old Euless man – he fatally shot his daughter with a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol in front of several family members before turning the gun on himself.

Euless police, who did not report the initial arrest to Child Protective Services, said the shooting was the result of a custody dispute over Mr. Khanthalangsy's daughter, Mya Lina.

Father and daughter died around noon Sunday at the home of Mr. Khanthalangsy's parents in the 600 block of Brenda Lane. Mr. Khanthalangsy had visitation rights for the weekend, police said.

"He wanted custody, and that may have led his thought process, his mental state to do this," said Euless police Sgt. T. Remington.

Mr. Khanthalangsy's family declined requests for interviews on Monday. The girl's mother, Lina Nguyen, could not be reached for comment. Police said Ms. Nguyen was taken to a hospital after hearing about her daughter's death.

On Feb. 11, Mr. Khanthalangsy was armed with a 9 mm handgun and driving around northeast Tarrant County with the girl in the car, police said.

"Officers were able to contact him and convinced him to return to the house," Sgt. Remington said. "He turned over the daughter at that time who was unharmed and gave himself up."

He was sentenced on April 6 to 20 days in jail but had not served his sentence.

Marissa Gonzales, spokeswoman for CPS, said the agency had no contact with the family after the February incident.

"We follow up on reports that law enforcement makes," Ms. Gonzales said. "If they think that we need to be involved, then we will be. There's no way to say what kind of action we would have taken."

Euless police said that since the girl was not harmed, they sought an emergency protective order for both the girl and her mother.

"A safety plan by CPS would not have made much of a difference," Sgt. Remington said. "It would not have changed the outcome.

"We determined that this [emergency protective order] was a more serious route and was the best route because it has a higher level of protection."

The emergency protective order, good for 61 days, expired April 13.

Sgt. Remington said that the length of the protective order, issued by a judge, was not in the department's hands.

The more serious charge of kidnapping was submitted to the Tarrant County district attorney's office, but officials there said they did not have enough information to pursue the charge.

"We sent it back and asked if force or threat was used against the child," said Kurt Stallings, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney. "They said they had trouble finding witnesses."

Kidnapping by a parent is a difficult charge to file if the child is not harmed, officials said.

Larry Robins, interim president and chief executive officer for the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, said "the question in these situations is always whether CPS or law enforcement should have received a report."

"We would always encourage anyone who suspects any element of child abuse to notify law enforcement immediately," Mr. Robins said. "They are the best to immediately respond to any situation. It's not the public's job to investigate.

"These are terrible situations, filled with all kinds of tragedies. The only thing that can happen is to hope there are methods to help improve the reporting so that the tragedies can be reduced."

According to court records, Mr. Khanthalangsy had asked a family court judge to grant him joint custody of the girl. His attorney, R. Keith Spencer, said in court papers that Mya had lived with her father since birth.

"We're still trying to sort through all of this to get a good, definite idea of why this all occurred," Sgt. Remington said. "We may never get 100 percent."

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth eyesore meets wrecking ball

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — In the 1960s and 1970s, the Cowtown Inn on East Lancaster Avenue was considered a prime location for parties and wedding receptions.

The first-rate motel, built in 1964, had a good location, right on the primary thoroughfare linking Fort Worth and Dallas.

But the site fell into a steep decline after Interstate 30 was built. About 15 years ago, its owner abandoned the Cowtown Inn.

The motel eventually became the property of the City of Fort Worth—and an eyestore for the Handley neighborhood.

Plans to raze the decaying property were stymied by the need to deal with more than 200,000 square feet of dangerous asbestos in the construction material.

The asbestos removal effort finally began in mid-February.

And today, neighborhood residents had reason to cheer they saw wrecking crews at work on the Cowtown Inn.

"We have fought long and hard to get this down," said Lloyd Jones of the Handley Neighborhood Association. "It's an eyesore; it brings down property values the way it's sitting; it draws crime. All these things that we're trying to get out of our neighborhood."

The demolition effort will cost Fort Worth taxpayers about $700,000.

Officials said within 45 days there will be no sign that the 66,000 square foot motel ever existed in the 6800 block of East Lancaster.


Wreckers got to work on the Cowtown Inn.
Photo courtesy of WFAA ABC 8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO ONLINE:

Cowtown Inn Demolition from the City of Ft. Worth

[TexasStooge]

Grapevine crowd gives Fonda warm welcome

By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News

GRAPEVINE, Texas – She's been a cinema sexpot, Vietnam protester and workout maven. Now in what she calls her "third act," Jane Fonda the best-selling memoirist spoke Monday in North Texas about overcoming the "disease to please."

Her recently released book My Life So Far, a candid account of bulimia, breast implants, marital group sex and Vietnam, hit No. 1 on The New York Times list of best-selling hardcover nonfiction this week.

"Even though I am famous and privileged, a lot about my story is universal," she told more than 200 supporters Monday night at the Books-A-Million store in the Grapevine Mills mall. "It's the story of a girl who grew up thinking she wasn't good enough."

Feisty, funny, articulate – her talk at the book signing was classic Jane Fonda, supporters said.

She drew parallels between the Iraq war and Vietnam. "We were lied to to get us into it," she said of both. Yet, "the war can be wrong, but the desire for men and women to fight for their country is noble."

Ms. Fonda, 67, is reading four books a week, getting ready for a hip replacement and enjoying single life after marriages to three strong men, she said. "I'm not alone, I'm with myself, and my children and grandchildren."

Sandy Luedke, 46, says she's such a fan she keeps a VCR so she can continue working out to Ms. Fonda's old exercise tapes.

"I wanted to be just like her when I was little – charismatic, gorgeous. She was fun, she got her hand in politics, she didn't back down, and that's who I wanted to be," she said.

Ms. Fonda and her supporters had expected an onslaught of protesters led by the group Vietnam Veterans for Truth, but only a few showed to criticize "Hanoi Jane." Several dozen had protested Sunday at her Albuquerque, N.M., book signing.

About 20 picketed across the street Sunday from the bookstore. Police told local business owners they were on city property and had a permit. On Monday, a few more protested but were out of book buyers' sights.

During her speech inside the mall, one man who said he had been a helicopter pilot in Vietnam heckled Ms. Fonda. "Can you apologize?" challenged James Edward Nunn, 57, of Grapevine, who explained later that he "can't stand" that Ms. Fonda posed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.

"I've been apologizing every decade since," Ms. Fonda said to sympathetic comments from the crowd. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

As Mr. Nunn left, Nancy Ray of Plano asked him: "Why don't you let people enjoy this? ... Why did you come?"

[TexasStooge]

Hinojosa's contract includes incentives

Trustee says salary plan tied to graduation rates, TAKS performance

By VANESA SALINAS / Al Día

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas Independent School District lawyers have offered superintendent candidate Michael Hinojosa a contract proposal laden with incentives to improve academic achievement, a school board trustee said.

Trustee Joe May would not say what Dr. Hinojosa's salary would be, but acknowledged that five incentives are part of the contract: TAKS performance, closing the achievement gap, graduation rates, college readiness and compliance with the No Child Left Behind law.

"We're going to put some incentives to obtain educational goals, to improve test scores, to prepare kids for college [and] to prepare them for the ACT," Mr. May said, adding that those incentives would apply to all students.

Trustee Lew Blackburn said he and other trustees are in favor of a contract similar to what was recently offered to Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, who was appointed Houston school district superintendent in December. Dr. Saavedra receives $270,000 a year with $60,000 in bonuses for student performance.

"You can make more money ... if the district performs well," Dr. Blackburn said.

Dr. Hinojosa, who is currently superintendent of Spring Independent School District near Houston, reportedly has been told the terms of the proposed contract and has given feedback to trustees.

"We cannot discuss it because this is sensitive information, and we do not want to put ourselves in a vulnerable position," Mr. May said.

Dr. Hinojosa could not be reached for comment Monday.

Dallas board President Lois Parrott said Monday that everything is going well with contract discussions.

Dr. Parrott declined to give details. But she said that she hopes to conclude the superintendent search process by Wednesday.

"We can have it over with if everything is negotiated to the point that we have agreements," Dr. Parrott said.

On Monday, board members were briefed on the negotiations. The board is scheduled to meet again today and Wednesday to finalize the contract offer. Although he was named the lone finalist for the superintendent job last month, state law mandated that a contract cannot be offered until 21 days have passed.

Staff writer Tawnell Hobbs contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Euless police told of death threat

Officers left man's home without seeing daughter he killed 12 hours later

By DEBRA DENNIS and JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News

EULESS, Texas - Twelve hours before Johnny Khanthalangsy killed his 4-year-old daughter, Mya Lina, on Sunday, Euless police received a 911call from the girl's mother saying her ex-boyfriend had threatened their daughter's life.

But officers responding to the call left the home that Mr. Khanthalangsy shared with his parents without going inside or seeing Mya after receiving verbal assurances that he and the child were safe.

Police were dispatched at 11:46 p.m. Saturday to a home in the 600 block of Brenda Lane, but when they arrived they found the doors locked and relatives unwilling to let them in. Euless police Lt. Steve Eskew said officers had no legal right to enter and left after speaking to family members through a door and Mr. Khanthalangsy, 24, through a window.

"You can go in under exigent circumstances such as someone is screaming," Euless police Sgt. T. Remington said. "There was no probable cause."

Believing that there was no imminent threat to Mya, police did not seek a search warrant because they lacked evidence to pursue Lina Nguyen's claims that her daughter's life was being threatened.

"It's extremely doubtful a judge would have issued a search warrant," Sgt. Remington said.

The threat detailed by Ms. Nguyen, 20, was carried out.

Shortly before noon Sunday, her ex-boyfriend barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom at his parents' home and fatally shot his only child before killing himself. There was no suicide note, police said, and they hope a laptop found in Mr. Khanthalangsy's room offers some clues.

Mya's grandfather Van Tam Nguyen said police failed to protect her.

"My daughter had more than a gut feeling," he said at his Euless home on Tuesday. Mr. Nguyen, 45, said that when Mr. Khanthalangsy called his daughter late Saturday, he told her, 'You will never see Mya again.' "

"We never thought about him doing something like this," Mr. Nguyen said. "He liked to talk about killing himself when he broke up with my daughter."

For years, Ms. Nguyen lived with the threats, he said. She only recently told her family that Mr. Khanthalangsy had once placed a gun to her chest.

"She was scared of him. She didn't call the police because she thought he would really kill her or kill Mya," Mr. Nguyen said. "He would show her the gun."

Ms. Nguyen, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, moved in with her parents on Delta Drive – about a mile from where the shooting took place – this year. Before that, she had been living with Mr. Khanthalangsy.

Mya became a pawn in Mr. Khanthalangsy's efforts to reconcile the failed relationship, Mr. Nguyen said. The girl lived with her father and his parents until three months ago.

"His mother loved Mya like she was her own daughter," Mr. Nguyen said of Mr. Khanthalangsy's mother.

But Ms. Nguyen wanted Mya with her, and she and Mr. Khanthalangsy had gone to court to try to resolve the matter.

In February, a Euless municipal judge signed a protective order restricting Mr. Khanthalangsy's access to Mya. State District Court Judge Frank Sullivan later modified that order, agreeing to a request by both parents to eliminate a 200-yard prohibition to allow visitation with Mr. Khanthalangsy.

Beginning March 5, he had visitation from 9 a.m. Saturdays to 8 p.m. Sundays.

The judge also ordered the father to continue counseling. No firearms were allowed in the father's home or in his possession, and the grandparents were to coordinate driving the child to supervised visits with her father. The paternal grandparents were also required to supervise the father's visitations.

Judge Sullivan said that the couple never appeared before him in person and that he does not remember the case. He has since looked at the file, however, and questions why the parents mutually agreed to remove some of the restrictions against Mr. Khanthalangsy.

"It's a horrible case," Judge Sullivan said Tuesday. "I'm sitting here wondering why they would have made this agreement if he was as far off the scope as he turned out to be."

Judge Sullivan, who has been a family court judge for 22 years, said it's common for parents to threaten to kill their children or spouse, but the threats are rarely carried out in such an extreme manner. The threat of violence is enough to get a protective order, and Judge Sullivan said he signs at least 10 protective orders a day.

"What they don't realize is it's a piece of paper," he said. "It only allows the police to respond. In terms of the piece of paper being able to shield you, it doesn't."

The court ordered a social study of the father, but it had not been completed. The parents were in counseling to learn how to co-parent, the judge said.

On Feb. 11, armed with a 9 mm handgun, Mr. Khanthalangsy drove around northeast Tarrant County with the girl in the car, threatening to harm her and himself, police said.

He released the girl unharmed and was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and sentenced on April 6 to 20 days in jail.

Tarrant County jail records show Mr. Khanthalangsy was ordered to serve one day a week, and on April 11 he completed one day of that sentence. He was on work release, according to the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

Mr. Khanthalangsy also had convictions for attempted auto burglary and auto burglary from 1998. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail. He also served a 90-day sentence for a 1999 auto burglary conviction.

Mr. Nguyen said he and his family are trying to move beyond the tragedy.

"I ask God to forgive him," Mr. Nguyen said. "I have already forgiven him. That's the only way I can go on."

[TexasStooge]

Arson count dropped in dude ranch fire

Ex-employee pleads to weapons charge; 7-year term likely

By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News

JUSTIN, Texas - A former employee of Texas Lil's Dude Ranch will not face an arson-related charge in connection with a November fire that destroyed three buildings at the ranch near Northlake.

The U.S. attorney's office dropped the federal charge against Billy Gene Howard in exchange for his guilty plea to a federal weapons charge, said his attorney, Clint Broden.

Mr. Howard, 48, is expected to receive seven years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon when he is sentenced in about a month, Mr. Broden said. He had faced a minimum of 15 years in prison for the gun charge and a minimum of five years for the charge of using fire or explosives to destroy a building, Mr. Broden said.

Mr. Howard was arrested the night of the Nov. 4 fire and was charged with setting it. Witnesses reported seeing him running erratically among buildings, police said.

His criminal history includes convictions for burglary and theft.

Lynda "Texas Lil" Arnold was charged with evidence tampering in connection with the fire at the ranch, which she lost to foreclosure. But a Denton County grand jury declined to indict her. The ranch was sold and has reopened under the name Coyote Texas.

[TexasStooge]

Court blocks execution set for Wednesday

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted one of the two executions set for Wednesday when it granted a reprieve to condemned inmate Milton Mathis, whose lawyers contended may be mentally retarded.

Mathis, 26, was to have been the second of two convicted killers to receive lethal injection Wednesday evening. He was convicted of the fatal shootings of two men at a Houston crack house in December 1998.

In a short five-paragraph order, the court Tuesday said arguments about Mathis' mental retardation should be reviewed by his trial court in Fort Bend County.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 barred the execution of the mentally retarded.

Mathis' attorneys also contended his execution, if carried out, would violate his rights unless he could get a full hearing on the claims of mental retardation.

Still scheduled to die Wednesday is Douglas Roberts, 42, for the abduction and fatal stabbing of a San Antonio man in 1996.

The double execution would have been the first in Texas in nearly five years and just the fourth time there's been a multiple execution on a single day in the state since executions resumed here in 1982.

Roberts, at his request, had no appeals pending in the courts to try to stop his punishment. It would be the fifth execution of the year in Texas.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas' vision comes into focus

Planners hope to build homes, jobs across the city

By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas residents and business leaders have crafted a vision for their city. Now planning experts hope to implement it – with 120,000 new households, homes and jobs within walking distance, and a wide range of housing options north and south of the Trinity River by 2030.

"What the public has said they want is actually good for the region and good for the city," said John Fregonese, the planner hired to craft Dallas' first Comprehensive Plan. Dallas "can't just be a job center. By attracting more housing in the city ... you'll have more retail sales tax, more property tax. And you're improving air quality and traffic in the region."

Urban planners will brief City Council members today on the results of their citywide meetings, conducted over the last few months at community centers, churches and schools. And they will outline their strategy for the coming months and years – including plans to revamp the city's zoning categories.

"If we're going to compete, if we're going to be a Chicago and not a Detroit, these are the tools that are going to get us there," said Theresa O'Donnell, Dallas' director of development. "We can secure Dallas' economic foundation by building this plan."

If Dallas' current population trends continue, job growth will far surpass housing growth by 2030, experts say. Places of employment will be clustered near downtown and the Galleria, and most household growth will occur in North Dallas.

But Dallas residents have a different vision, one that calls for more residents within the city limits and a balance of homes and jobs across the city. And they desire a varied mix of housing, including single-family homes, condominiums, town homes and apartment buildings.

"Population is the foundation of your city – it can't be just a job center," Mr. Fregonese said.

Adding 120,000 households in Dallas could increase sales tax revenue by 27 percent and double the amount of assessed value in the city of Dallas, experts say. And having more people living near their jobs would cut down on traffic and have a positive effect on air quality, Mr. Fregonese said.

For John Stettler, the planners are right on target. The region's population should be concentrated within the Dallas city limits – as a way to curb urban sprawl and heal the city's ailing tax base, he said.

"I think it's wise," said Mr. Stettler, who lives in the White Rock area and moved his business from Pleasant Grove to Royce City more than 25 years ago. "It's not such a big concern as making sure the city is safe. But economic development – that's a big problem right now."

Dallas is nearing the end of its vacant land supply, Mr. Fregonese said. To bring more residents and more tax dollars into the city, he said, not everyone can build large homes on even larger lots.

"We have to be open to different types of housing," he said.

"We're moving from being reactive to proactive," council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said.

But construction of new multi-family housing – particularly affordable, tax-credit developments – could be controversial in the southern sector, a region many people, including Mayor Laura Miller, believe has more than its share of such properties.

"Has anybody talked to the mayor about this strategy?" council member Ed Oakley asked.

Dallas residents who participated in the neighborhood meetings have some big demands. They want a downtown retail core and the conversion of vacant offices into shops and housing. They want more quality housing choices, not simply for rental, but for purchase. And they want strong and vibrant communities and the planning tools to protect them.

Those planning tools aren't in place yet. For years, land-use decisions in Dallas have involved creating planned development districts – special zoning for individual projects – as opposed to forcing them to fit into current zoning standards. As a result, the city has about 35 zoning categories, many of them unused, and more than 700 planned development districts.

"We have done a lot of zoning, but we haven't done much planning," Ms. O'Donnell said. "We need to encourage quality development and make that easy."

The current zoning system is archaic, "clumsy" and prevents small investors – many of whom don't have the time or money to lobby for a planned development district – from getting involved, Mr. Fregonese said. Several improved zoning categories will be recommended this summer, and could be tried out in certain strategic areas in the city, he said.

"So much of the 'anti' sentiment, and a lot of the idea that City Hall is broken, are people who have come down and worked through this process, and said, 'This doesn't work at all,' " Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said. "We've been silently letting ... private development companies do the planning for our city."

The city is about two-thirds of the way through its comprehensive planning process, Mr. Fregonese said. The City Council should approve the final document in December, he said, but it must be embraced citywide to have an effect.

"The plan does call for some pretty dramatic changes," he said. "For this plan to be effective, it needs to be institutionalized."

[TexasStooge]

Last shot at TAKS grad test

This week's exam will be make or break for 11 percent of state seniors

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – Nearly 11 percent of high school seniors in Texas – about 25,000 students – are still sweating out whether they'll receive a diploma next month because they have yet to pass the state's high school graduation exam.

The Texas Education Agency reported Tuesday that a significant number of seniors still have not passed one or more of the subject area tests on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills after four tries dating to the spring of their junior year. Their fifth and final chance will occur this week.

Although Texas students have been required to pass a graduation exam to earn a diploma since the late 1980s, the Class of '05 is the first that is being called on to pass the new TAKS graduation exam – a much more rigorous test than its predecessors.

The good news is that 89 percent of the Class of '05 has cleared the TAKS hurdle.

"These are very encouraging results for our first class of TAKS graduates," state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said Tuesday.

"They are living up to the state's higher standards and expectations. Our school districts are again offering intense instruction to the students who are still attempting to pass one or more parts of the TAKS. The overall passing rate is sure to increase by the end of the school year."

Students have had the most difficulty with the science test, which has been passed by 94 percent. Identical percentages – 95 percent – passed the English and math tests. The fourth subject area test – social studies – has been passed by 99 percent of students.

Black and Hispanic students have passed in lower percentages than white students, according to an analysis of test results by the TEA.

The passing rate was 82 percent for black students and 83 percent for Hispanic students after four testing dates. About 95 percent of white students have passed the graduation test.

Among economically disadvantaged students, the passing rate was 82 percent, while for limited-English-speaking students it was 54 percent.

The TAKS graduation test was introduced in high schools in the spring of 2004, replacing the old Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Because the TAKS is a more difficult exam that measures knowledge in two additional subject areas – science and social studies – the State Board of Education voted to set a lower passing standard in the initial years of the test.

This year's seniors had to correctly answer fewer than half the questions to pass the test under a phase-in plan approved by the board. Juniors this year have to get more answers correct to pass, and the cutoff score will increase even further for juniors next year.

[TexasStooge]

Steroid-busting mom files lawsuit

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

GRAPEVINE, Texas - The steroid scandal at Colleyville Heritage High School is taking a legal turn.

The mother of a student-athlete who sparked a steroid investigation at the school is seeking $1.5 million in damages from the school's head football coach

The investigation uncovered a bigger than expected problem, but it came at a price for Lori Lewis, who first blew the whistle.

"It hurt me," Lewis said. "II knew at the time I was giving legitimate information. I had a vial of Deca in my hand and syringes the day I called the school."

Lewis discovered steroids in her son's closet. She called the high school assistant principal when her son told her a large number of varsity football players injected steroids, and said coaches seemed to "look the other way" at the problem. She said nine Heritage players have since admitted to steroid use.

Lewis' suit, filed Wednesday in Tarrant County, claims she was slandered by coach Chris Cunningham when he was quoted in The Dallas Morning News calling her a "liar" and a "crazy mom."

"It was reckless and malicious, and we think he should be held accountable for it," said Lewis' attorney Dan Boyd.

In a February interview with WFAA's Dale Hansen, Cunningham explained his remarks.

"She had called and basically was yelling at our assistant vice principal that the majority of our football team was on steroids, and number two that the football coaches knew about it," Cunningham said.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD officials said Wednesday they had not seen a copy of the lawsuit, and had no comment.

Lewis said she filed the suit in the hopes that if another mother asks for the district's help in investigating drug use, "She would be treated better than I was, and not swiftly dismissed." She said her 17-year-old son has had to transfer to a private school because of threats and intimidation from from other Heritage athletes.

"He is paying a huge price," she said. "Our family has paid a huge price; we've been ostracized from the community."

[TexasStooge]

Convenience store murder suspects nabbed

By CYNTHIA DEVANEY / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two suspects in last week's robbery and slaying at a convenience store were in police custody.

Darrell Glenn "Boo" Bell, 19, and Tarrance Stevenson, 17, were being held in the Mansfield jail on $250,000 bond.

They are charged with captial murder in the robbery of Terry's Food Mart on the night of April 13.

A third suspect, Julian "Ju Ju" Hayley, 19, remained at large.

Police said the robbers wore masks and demanded money from the clerk, 45-year-old Syed Karim. Witnesses said Karim gave them the money from register but was shot anyway. He later died.

Fort Worth police Lt. Dean Sullivan said detectives were inundated with tips that led to the arrests. "The motive, based on the interviews that we have conducted, was robbery," he said. "Apparently, according to one of the subjects and one of the tipsters that came forward, the real motive underlying here was their need to purchase drugs."

[TexasStooge]

Richardson house fire leaves 1 dead

RICHARDSON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Firefighters are investigating the cause of a Richardson blaze that left one man dead Wednesday afternoon.

An interim fire chief said the fire started sometime before 2:30 p.m. in a two-story home located on Grant Circle.

Firefighters went inside the home and found a male victim dead upstairs. Firefighters tried to carry the victim out of the home, but the intense flames forced them to exit the home and fight the fire from outside.

A driver used their cell phone to report the fire; firefighters responding said they could see the smoke from their fire station. A total of 30 firefighters responded to the scene.

No one else was inside the home at the time of the fire. An investigation is now under way, and damage estimates have not been released.

[TexasStooge]

Bill seeks to open classes to home-schoolers

Families, Plano push for access to subjects, activities, funds

By TERRENCE STUTZ and KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – Thousands of home-school families have struck an unlikely alliance with Plano school officials in a push to allow their children to participate in some classes and extracurricular activities for the first time.

Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, submitted a bill early Wednesday that would let home-schoolers pick and choose classes, such as chemistry or a foreign language, or play on sports teams or the band at their neighborhood schools.

In return, the schools would get extra money based on the additional enrollment.

"It allows parents who choose to home-school to also have the opportunity for their children to participate in certain things that public schools offer, such as chemistry labs," Mr. McCall said.

"They're taxpayers. They pay property taxes for the schools, and if they choose to participate in part of what their local schools have to offer, they should be able to."

Among critics are the state's four teacher organizations, the only lobbyists to testify against the bill before the House Public Education Committee.

"We are opposed to home-school students having any access to public schools," said Johannah Whitsett of the Association of Texas Professional Educators.

"They can already enroll in public schools at any time. There are finite resources in public schools, and allowing these students to come and take classes part time could limit class space for regular, full-time students."

Bill sponsors addressed the biggest obstacle – a hefty price tag – by proposing initial limits on the number of students and tax dollars dedicated. A fiscal analysis indicated that allowing the home-school option without limits would cost more than $116 million over two years.

Mr. McCall said the study far overestimated the number of students who would take advantage of the new law, but he proposed an initial limit of about 2,000 students and $5 million in funding. Enrollment limits could be increased or dropped altogether in future years, he said.

He said the bill has gotten a favorable reaction from House colleagues, and he is hopeful it will pass out of the chamber in coming weeks. Republicans, in particular, have been sympathetic to the concerns of home-school families. Gov. Rick Perry addressed a Capitol rally of home-school parents a few weeks ago.

Mr. McCall said he was asked to sponsor the measure by the Plano school district, where a significant number of home-schooled children live.

The extra revenue could stack up for districts, considering the state's estimate that at least 160,000 children in Texas are taught at home. A group that represents home-school families and backs the legislation said the actual number is closer to 250,000. There is no estimate of how many live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Most important to Plano school officials is part of the bill that would allow home-schooled students to take district online courses for academic credit. The district has been trying for years to get state reimbursement for students who take courses via computer. Those students pay tuition now.

Plano Superintendent Doug Otto said he hopes the bill would be a step toward state reimbursement for those courses, which would make them more affordable to all Plano students, whether they're home-schooled or not.

While state rules limit participation in sports and other extracurricular activities to full-time students, the bill would allow home-schoolers to join the school band or choir, or try out for the football or basketball teams. Residency requirements would be the same as for other kids: Students must attend their assigned neighborhood schools.

A revision to the bill would subject home-schooled students to the state's no pass-no play rule – even if it's their parents giving the grades – for participation in extracurricular activities.

Home-school parents sometime hit a wall when a student's learning exceeds the parent's knowledge or the family home lacks the right equipment. Some of the more elaborate extracurricular activities, such as marching band, aren't available in the home-school setting.

Opening up public school sports teams could be a selling point to some home-school families.

"In my view, the more opportunities the better," said Chuck Hendricks, president of the Home School Athletic Association, which formed a decade ago to give area home-schoolers an opportunity to compete with private school teams.

Mr. Hendricks, father of seven home-schooled children, said legislative change would give some competitive student-athletes the chance to play on Class 5A teams, for example, and have exposure to college recruiters and other opportunities they might not have otherwise.

But some home-school parents predicted there wouldn't be a surge of children into public school classes if the bill becomes law.

Caryl Adams, a Plano mother who home-schools her three children in Plano, said she and her circle of friends shun public schools for a reason.

A biology class in the public schools, for example, wouldn't offer the creationist viewpoint many home-school families seek, Ms. Adams said. And the home-school community has developed so many academic, athletic and social alternatives that they don't need the public school options. She is also leery of developing ties with public schools.

"If we step our foot in the door I think it opens a Pandora's box down the road to become accountable to them," she said.

The Texas Home School Coalition, which represents about 60,000 families, has identified the bill as its top priority for the legislative session. Members of the group have been lobbying senators and House members as they seek the bill's passage before the session ends May 30.

"Nobody is forced to do anything, but it does give public schools a way to reach out to the home-school community and give home-schoolers an opportunity they don't have now," said Tim Lambert, president of the coalition.

Mr. Lambert said his group believes the vast majority of students would be of junior high or high school age.

"It's a fairness issue," Mr. Lambert said. "These families support schools with their tax dollars, both locally and across state."

He noted that Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has agreed to carry the bill on the Senate side if it passes the House.

[TexasStooge]

Authorities crack Denton County crime ring

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

DENTON, Texas - Investigators from the Denton County Sheriff's office and three other police departments said Wednesday they have cracked a major crime ring.

So far, 13 people face charges for a series of crimes committed across the county.

The sweep began with a Denton police investigation involving stolen credit cards used at a Mervyn's store, and quickly expanded across the cities of Corinth, Denton, and Sanger.

At a motel authorities found three suspects, stolen goods and stolen mail.

All 13 suspects are now behind bars. Charges include burglary, forgery and credit card abuse.

[TexasStooge]

7-Eleven to move downtown

New Arts District tower becomes headquarters for 1,000 in '07

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - 7-Eleven plans to move its 1,000-person headquarters to a new development in downtown Dallas' Arts District in early 2007.

The move, announced Wednesday, will be the largest corporate relocation to the central business district in almost a decade. It also will be the first office tower built downtown since the 1980s.

"It was our dream to stay in Dallas, since this has always been our home," said Jim Keyes, 7-Eleven president and chief executive. "The economic alternatives right here in Dallas we believe are as good as anywhere else, if not better."

Billingsley Co. is building One Arts Plaza, a mixed-use development that will have condominiums and retail around a plaza with 7-Eleven's offices in the middle.

The developers spent years planning the $100 million project as a new focal point for the Arts District.

"When the next major cultural buildings come on within the Arts District and the connection is made with this project, it will be something very powerful for the city of Dallas," developer Lucy Billingsley said. "This is the most important deal for us, and it's a giant opportunity to be able to participate in the future of downtown."

Initial construction will start this summer, Ms. Billingsley said, and will include the 425,000-square-foot office building to house 7-Eleven on Flora Street near Routh Street, about 60 high-rise condominiums and 30,000 square feet of retail space.

The development will be a short walk from the $275 million Dallas Center for the Performing Arts complex along Flora Street.

Mr. Keyes said 7-Eleven decided to move its office from the Cityplace tower on North Central Expressway after it sold the building and evaluated its operations.

"Our needs as a company have changed," he said. "We looked at very many alternatives, including perhaps staying in Cityplace.

"We looked in the suburbs," Mr. Keyes said.

Billingsley has hired award-winning Dallas architect Lionel Morrison and architectural firm Corgan Associates to design One Arts Plaza.

"It's pretty daunting," said Mr. Morrison, whose projects include interiors for the W Dallas condominiums, a building in Billingsley Co.'s International Business Park and local residences. "You are going to be there in the Arts District with all these world-class architects."

New housing, retail

The development is significant because it's the first time housing and a large block of retail space are being built in the 20-year-old Arts District.

"It will be an exciting addition to the district, and it will bring people who will be there on a daily basis," art collector and developer Raymond Nasher said. "It should be a catalyst for many more great things."

To help pay for the deal, the city of Dallas is providing more than $9 million in economic incentives that include a property tax abatement.

City officials have worked since last year to keep 7-Eleven's home office in the city, Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said.

"We knew they were looking to move and had offers from all over the metroplex," she said. "We think this is a critical, critical move for the city of Dallas to show we are serious about keeping businesses here."

Ms. Miller said the city is also concerned about the huge block of vacant space 7-Eleven will leave at Cityplace. The convenience store giant occupies about half of the 42-story building at North Central and Haskell Avenue.

"We will help them to make sure they get a great tenant to take up the space," she said.

At Cityplace since 1988

7-Eleven has had its headquarters in Cityplace since it built the tower in 1988.

When the retailer sold the building to Dallas-based Prentiss Properties last year for $124 million, it was with the understanding that the lead tenant might relocate. Prentiss Properties agreed to pay an additional $14.5 million for the building if 7-Eleven stayed there beyond 2007.

Prentiss has about two years to find new tenants for the more than 500,000 square feet of space 7-Eleven rents in the 1.4 million-square-foot tower.

"Of course, we are disappointed to learn of this decision because we have been working diligently to help 7-Eleven with its changing space needs," said Thomas F. August, Prentiss Properties' president and chief executive.

"It's especially frustrating for Prentiss Properties, a Dallas-based company, to be negotiating and competing against the city of Dallas, which offered incentives to another developer."

7-Eleven is a 78-year-old company and one of Dallas' largest and best-known businesses.

"We were born here, down the street in Oak Cliff," Mr. Keyes said. "Dallas has been our home for all these many years."

7-Eleven operates or licenses more than 27,000 stores in North America and abroad. Last year, its convenience stores worldwide had $41 billion in sales.

The company has 3,443 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

7-Eleven shares closed Wednesday at $23.86, down 75 cents.

[TexasStooge]

Internet pharmacy crackdown nabs Texan

ABILENE, Texas/WASHINGTON D.C. (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Twenty people, including an Abilene, Texas, man, were arrested on charges they ran Internet pharmacies that illegally shipped narcotics, steroids and amphetamines to teenagers and other buyers around the world, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The arrests resulted from a yearlong investigation by six federal agencies of online pharmacies that often operate in the shadows of the Internet, with no fixed address and no way to track where they are located, Drug Enforcement Administrator Karen Tandy said.

"The Internet has become an open medicine cabinet," Tandy said. "Strangers are peddling drugs in your home and you don't even know it."

Among the organizations targeted was a Philadelphia-based Internet pharmacy that allegedly smuggled prescription painkillers, steroids and amphetamines into the United States from India, Germany, Hungary and elsewhere, repackaged them and sold them throughout the world, Tandy said.

The drugs were shipped to buyers with little or no effort to verify ages or medical need, allowing teenagers or drug abusers easy access to addictive and dangerous drugs, officials said.

Matthew Joseph Melao, 27, of Abilene was charged with illegal distribution of drugs, DEA investigator Terry Riley said. Melao operated a Web site that took credit card payments for drugs without a prescription, he said.

“Melao would forward orders to the Philadelphia group, thinking he would not be subject to law enforcement since he wasn’t handling the drugs,” Riley said. “He could get 10 to 20 years or more.”

Tandy and officials from the FBI, Customs, the Internal Revenue Service, Food and Drug Administration and the Postal Service gave details of Operation Cyber Chase at a news conference. They said the pharmacies forfeited 41 bank accounts valued at more than $6 million.

U.S. arrests took place in Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota, Fla., New York City and Rochester, N.Y., Philadelphia and Greenville, S.C. Authorities also made arrests in Australia, Costa Rica and India.

A study by the Government Accountability Office last year found it was easy to order drugs online. Some drugs received from foreign pharmacies were counterfeit and many came with no instructions or warnings, the GAO said. Others arrived in damaged or unconventional packaging.

The FDA has led the government's enforcement efforts against Internet pharmacies as part of its strenuous opposition to the legalization of imported prescription drugs.

[TexasStooge]

Church reinstates sex assault suspect

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News

ARLINGTON, Texas – Terry L. Hornbuckle, the Arlington pastor facing sexual assault and drug charges, has been reinstated as head of the church he founded.

Ronn Torossian, a New York publicist, said Wednesday that Mr. Hornbuckle resumed his duties at Agape Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday. Mr. Hornbuckle was suspended without pay after his arrest in mid-March, and his wife, Renee, took over the church in his absence.

"He has the official duties of founder and visionary of the church," Mr. Torossian said.

He would not say why Mr. Hornbuckle was reinstated. Lawsuits and criminal cases are pending against Mr. Hornbuckle, who is out of jail on $405,000 bail.

Mr. Hornbuckle publicly announced the decision to resume the leadership role at his east Arlington church Wednesday afternoon on KHVN-AM (970).

The 43-year-old pastor was indicted on four sexual assault charges and was also charged with possession of 1 to 4 ounces of methamphetamine, which police said they found during his arrest. Three women have told police that he sexually assaulted them, and in two cases they said they were drugged.

G. Lee Finley, the civil attorney for the alleged victims, said he believes that allowing Mr. Hornbuckle to return to his pulpit is "a gross error on the part of the church" and its elders.

"It's one thing to place your faith in God," Mr. Finley said. "It's another thing to place your faith in a man."

A church employee referred all questions to a spokesperson, but she could not provide a name or phone number for that media contact. Giles Hudson, a publicist hired by the church after Mr. Hornbuckle's arrest, said that Agape officials ended the contract for "financial reasons."

During Wednesday's radio interview with KHVN news director and talk-show host Robert Ashley, Mr. Hornbuckle said, "I am innocent and all eyes will see."

[TexasStooge]

Texas executes man for abduction-slaying

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A convicted murderer who said he first tried cocaine at age 10 was executed Wednesday evening for abducting and fatally stabbing a San Antonio man whose car he stole nine years ago while he was high.

Douglas Roberts, 42, was upbeat and animated in the seconds before the lethal drugs were administered.

"I've been hanging around this popsicle stand way too long," he said when asked if he had a final statement. "I want to tell you all.

"When I die, bury me deep, lay two speakers at my feet, put some headphones on my head and rock 'n' roll me when I'm dead."

"I'll see you in heaven some day," he added.

Mr. Roberts, 42, was pronounced dead eight minutes later, at 6:21 p.m.

He was the fifth Texas prisoner put to death this year.

Mr. Roberts' appeals were rejected this month by the U.S. Supreme Court, and he asked his lawyers not to file last-minute actions to keep him alive.

"Why go through the trouble for nothing?" he said last week. "The appeals have run their course through the system."

He insisted he had no desire to die but saw his execution as a way to end the loneliness and isolation of death row.

Mr. Roberts was convicted of killing Jerry Velez, 40, who was abducted in San Antonio early on May 18, 1996.

Mr. Roberts, who worked as a machinist and lived in the Austin suburb of Round Rock, had just robbed a San Antonio convenience store and stolen a customer's car at knifepoint. Lost in an unfamiliar place and "stoned out of my mind," he said he spotted Mr. Velez walking to a row of cars parked outside an apartment complex.

The pair drove to a dirt road in a remote area of Kendall County, about 30 miles northwest of San Antonio, where Mr. Roberts said he and Mr. Velez scuffled, and he killed Mr. Velez.

[TexasStooge]

Suspect arrested in 1986 FW slaying

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Authorities said they arrested a suspect in the nearly 19-year-old rape and slaying of an eleven-year-old girl in her North Texas home.

Fort Worth police said Juan Segundo is a former friend of Vanessa Villa's family who attended the girl's wake.

Investigators say DNA taken from the girl's body matched that of the 42-year-old Segundo. They say he's a convicted felon who previously served time in prison for burglary and drunken driving.

He was arrested at his Johnson County home south of Fort Worth on a capital-murder warrant. He's held in the Mansfield Jail with bail set at $300,000.

Police say the 1986 break-in at the Villa home where the girl was strangled is strikingly similar to two crimes Segundo was convicted of in the years since her slaying.