News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Murder suspect blames alter ego (Updated)

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The man accused in the death of an 11-year-old girl in Southeast Dallas over the weekend claims his alter ego made him do it.

Kaitlyn Smith was murdered Saturday morning and her body was later found under a trailer in a mobile home park off of Fish Road.

According to court documents provided to News 8, the suspect - 33-year-old Steven Long - claims he has a split personality that led him to kill the little girl while she was spending the night with a friend in a trailer where Long was also a guest.

According to an arrest warrant affadivit, the suspect "stated the part of him called Pretty Boy called the complaint over to him sometime after 4 a.m." It continued, "The suspect stated Pretty Boy grabbed Kaitlyn and took her to the middle bedroom."

Police said Long has confessed to beating and strangling her.

"To see an 11 year old girl.. A kid in that position. It just breaks your heart."

The affidavit went on to say, "Pretty Boy then put the victim over his shoulder, carried her through the trailer and then put her under the house."

One of the homeowners told police that Long been acting different than usual, and that he had Kaitlyn's glasses before her body was found.

"Suffice to say throughout the course of the investigation, the factors pointed to him," said Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Max Geron.

The question police and residents ask is why no one inside the trailer heard or saw what happened to Kaitlyn.

"They were partying all night long," one neighbor said.

Capital murder charges have been filed against Long, who remains in custody at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Long denied a News 8 request for an interview.

WFAA-TV's Chris Heinbaugh contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Grapevine soldier dies in Afghanistan

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

GRAPEVINE, Texas/AFGHANISTAN - Before the fatigues and boot camp, Steven Tucker of Grapevine loved to play his saxophone. As a 2004 graduate of Colleyville Heritage High School, he was an athlete and scholar. To friends, he was the voice of reason; to family, he was a humble brother and son.

"We're all special in our own way, but he was ice cream with sprinkles on top," said father Charlie Tucker.

Tucker, who enlisted in the Army last year, was killed late last week while stationed in Afghanistan. The Humvee he was riding in crossed over a live mine in Zabul Province.

His parents, though divorced, stood together to support their son's military plans. Steven was called up in January, to Italy first and then on to Afghanistan.

"He wanted that experience, and I deeply respected him for that choice," his father said. "He enjoyed what he was doing; it was a challenge for him."

His parents now wonder how many more of America's young men and women will die.

"My son is so young; he's only 19 years old," said mother Rowena Tucker. "He hasn't lived his life fully."

"We've been using this mode of politics for centuries, and it's never gotten us anywhere yet," said his father. "At some point, I think we need to try something else ... I don't what other parents to experience what we are going through right now."

But so many others have - about 1,600 to date. The Tuckers don't want their son to get lost in the numbers.

"I just need for everybody to know that that was Steven that got killed when that mine went off," his father said.

"(He was) defending his country," his mother said. "Not just another casualty of war."

[TexasStooge]

Dallas truancy court turning teens around

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - One of the biggest problems facing North Texas schools is truancy.

On an average day, 7,000 Dallas ISD students don't show up for class. 15,000 times every school year, a DISD parent gets a letter warning them about a serious truancy problem.

11,800 of those truancy problems ended up in truancy court last year. It's a brush with the justice system that's tough, but compassionate.

A chain gang in the courthouse is a discomforting sight, especially one where the youngest is just 12. In fact, they are all guilty of the same crime: skipping school.

"You're 12 years old, is that right? And you have 60 unexcused absences," Judge Douglas Dunn asked one defendant.

It only takes ten tardies or absences to land a student in the court. For every child who ends up there, Dunn has three fears.

"One of them is the street, the other is the penitentiary and the third is the grave," Dunn said.

He sees education as the vaccination against those three fears. The problem is getting the kids to believe.

"I believe you havea bright future, but only if you decde to have one," he told one teen. "You need to make some choices today."

The students who keep cutting class get cuffed and sent to the truancy center, where they receive counseling and community service fines up to $500. That adds to the frustration for parents.

Adrianna Villarreal says she goes to PTA meetings and school conferences. She blames the school for not telling her about her 14-year-old's truancy until the 45th absence, saying it "broke her heart" to see her daughter handcuffed.

"I feel like we get slapped in the face," Villarreal said. "I do drop her off right in front of the school. Now, I can't take her by the hand and take her class to class. I'm a single parent; I have to go to work."

Dunn agrees that schools and parents must do more. But at this point, it's time for the teens to grow up.

"You don't ever need to come back here to see me again, except when you graduate from high school and you bring your diploma with you to show me," he told a teen.

Attendance rates have steadily improved since truancy court started. T hose who don't get the message can be sentenced to juvenile detention, but the hope is for just the opposite: teens who get educated and become productive.

[TexasStooge]

Waxahachie to reprint yearbook pages (Updated)

WAXAHACHIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A North Texas school district is having four pages of its high school yearbook reprinted to correct a photo caption that identified a student as "Black Girl."

Administrators in the Ellis County school district said they planned to talk with Waxahachie High School senior Shadoyia Jones to offer an apology and discuss exactly how she ended up listed that way in a photo of the school's National Honor Society.

"I am disappointed they didn't catch the error," Jones said. "I just felt like all my achievements, everything I have been working so hard for, went down the drain, basically."

District spokeswoman Candace Ahlfinger said Monday that administrators have asked the publisher to reprint the affected page, its companion page in a two-page layout, and those two pages' back pages.

"We will never be able to minimize this damage, but this will change it so that it is not a constant reminder, so it won't be a forever," Ahlfinger told the Waxahachie Daily Light.

Students will be asked to bring in their yearbooks so the old pages can be torn out and the new ones glued in, Ahlfinger said. The district expects to have the reprinted pages by Wednesday. The last day of school is Thursday.

All white students are identified by name in the photograph in the Waxahachie High School yearbook, which was distributed on Friday. The teen identified as "Black Girl" is the only black student in the photo.

The label apparently was meant to be a placeholder until the yearbook staff could track down the student's name, Ahlfinger said.

She said using that label was a poor choice, but it was not meant maliciously and was not meant to be printed.

"We all apologize to her and we are sorry that it happened," said Katherine Kemp of the school's yearbook staff. "It wasn't meant to happen and it wasn't meant to hurt anybody."

School board president Joe Langley said a student made the mistake. "I'm sure the student is very sorry," he said.

"It was real offensive, because Shadoyia is one of the smartest girls in the class of '05," said senior Janee Henderson.

Betty Square Jefferson of the Waxahachie chapter of the NAACP said her organization is investigating the matter.

"The retraction of those yearbooks, and an insert? That just doesn't cut it," Jefferson said.

Jones' mother Judy told News 8 that she felt her daughter was "cheated" by the words in the yearbook.

"There should not have been a mistake," Jones siad. "Everyone knows her, she's been there for four years."

WFAA-TV's Dan Ronan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Fatal wreck closes I-30 in Rockwall

ROCKWALL, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A fiery wreck involving an 18-wheeler shut down Interstate 30 in Rockwall on Monday afternoon, leaving at least one person dead and tying up traffic for miles.

Just after 4 p.m., a big rig loaded with styrofoam burst into flames and careened across several lanes of traffic. Four vehicles were involved in the accident in all; it was still unclear who died in the wreck and whether there were other serious injuries.

Lanes were closed in both directions as fire and highway crews worked to extinguish the blaze and clean up debris. As of 6 p.m., westbound traffic was slowly moving but the main eastbound lanes were still closed.

Drivers were urged to avoid the area.

[TexasStooge]

Mom accused of pimping out daughter over Internet

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/KHOU Houston's CBS) - A Pasadena man was arrested in San Antonio after allegedly traveling there to have sex with a mother and her 13-year-old daughter.

Investigators say the 28-year-old mother had been sending nude photos of her daughter to 36-year-old Erik Hull.

"We have a victim who was victimized twice -- first by the suspect and then by her own mother," said Lt. Joe Rios with the San Antonio Police Department.

Police say Hull met the pair at a San Antonio car wash Sunday. They say Hull and the mother began having sex with the daughter in the back seat.

They say the trio then went to an apartment complex where the mother suggested a three-way sexual encounter.

At one point, the mother called police. Officers say she was holding him at knifepoint when they arrived, but then told them she made a mistake in calling them.

Both Hull and the mother are charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. The mother faces other charges as well.

"She will be charged with the promotion of child pornography," said Lt. Rios.

Hull and the mother remain in the Bexar County Jail on $500,000 bond each.

Police say this is the third time Hull, who is married, had traveled to San Antonio to have sex with the woman and her daughter.

[TexasStooge]

Man accused of misconduct was Plano substitute 4 years

District says teacher worked on numerous campuses, with all ages

By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO, Texas - A Plano substitute teacher accused of sexual misconduct on school grounds worked in the district for four years at numerous campuses with students of all ages, officials said.

The Plano Independent School District, which has had no comment since Jason Pearce was arrested earlier this month, has provided written responses to questions about Mr. Pearce's work history, including in which schools he had worked.

Mr. Pearce, 31, is accused of photographing and fondling a 15-year-old girl after he asked her to take off her top in a classroom. He is also accused of recently showing sexually explicit photos to two other girls at Williams High School.

Mr. Pearce was charged May 13 with sexual performance of a child and indecency with a child, both felonies, and two Class A misdemeanor charges of displaying harmful material to a minor.

Mr. Pearce could not be reached for comment.

The Plano district's responses included the following:

•Mr. Pearce had substituted in Plano schools for more than four years when the allegations were taken to police.

Records show he worked 359 days between April 12, 2001, and May 9, when he was fired. During that time, he worked at numerous campuses, with students of all grade levels.

•The district said it has received previous complaints about Mr. Pearce but "none were of the scope and severity of the last complaint." Officials would not elaborate.

•The school district said it does background checks on substitutes, but it did not specify what kind or how they are done. The statement read: "The district does the same background check on substitutes as regular employees. We run the background check in Texas as well as any other state or country listed."

•The district said letters were not sent home with parents about the allegations.

Mr. Pearce also has substituted in the Richardson school district, but not since 2001. Officials say he has never worked in the Allen, Frisco and McKinney school districts.

No criminal record was found for Mr. Pearce.

He was released from the Collin County Jail on $80,000 bail. If convicted of the indecency with a child charge, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The other charges carry lesser penalties.

The case soon will be turned over to the Collin County district attorney, whose office would investigate any further complaints against Mr. Pearce.

[TexasStooge]

Man fatally struck by 18-wheeler

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News) - An 18-wheeler struck and killed a man Tuesday morning on the Commerce Street bridge, backing up traffic for several hours.

The accident occurred shortly after 6 a.m. in the 100 block of Commerce Street when the man stepped into the eastbound lane of the street and was hit, Dallas police Sr. Cpl Donna Hernandez said.

The man, described as being in his early 40s but who was without identification, died at the scene. The driver of the 18-wheeler, whom police did not want to identify, stopped and will not be charged in the accident, she said.

All eastbound lanes except one were closed for several hours. All lanes were clear by 9 a.m., Hernandez said.

[TexasStooge]

Raise for jury duty proposed

By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Sworn to mete out justice and judge peers, people find that the call to jury duty might be the toughest job in Dallas County.

But at $6 a day, calling it a job is a stretch. The few who actually show up for duty quickly realize the daily pay doesn't come close to covering the expense of traveling to the courthouse, parking and eating lunch, let alone lost wages.

The pay is one reason for the dismally low jury duty participation rate – of the 128,438 Dallas County residents summoned for jury duty from January to May 1, only about 19 percent showed up for duty, according to county records.

Now a bill to boost the statewide minimum daily rate for jury service to $40 after the first day of jury selection is poised to head for the governor's desk after its likely passage in the House as early as Monday evening.

The bill, drafted by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has already won Senate approval. Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, a sponsor in the House, said the bill's chances for passage are "very good."

In Dallas County, courthouse players say better pay should make jury duty more attractive, particularly for poor and working-class residents.

"People have been complaining about that for years and years and years," District Judge John Creuzot said. "You can't hardly buy lunch for $6."

Many employers pay their workers for jury duty, but it's not a requirement in Texas. For residents who do answer a jury summons, claiming financial hardship does not keep them from being selected.

"Some employers do not pay their people to do jury duty," Collin County District Court jury clerk Kristi Wells said. "Some [jurors] are commissioned. They work hourly and if they don't work, they don't get paid."

Those working on commission or are self-employed suffer during lengthy trials, court officials say. For them, a boost to $40 would provide a little solace.

Dallas attorney Scottie Allen said a pay increase should broaden the socioeconomic range of people who get selected to serve on a jury.

"In every jury pool you're going to get four or five people who say they can't afford to sit here and be a juror," Mr. Allen said. "I think that's going to increase the level of participation."

Mr. Hartnett said the pay raise should increase the diversity of the juror pool.

District Attorney Bill Hill agreed, "For some people it's difficult to serve because of the financial impact, so the extra money should help."

When jury trials linger from days to weeks, some prosecutors fear that unhappy jurors might hold a grudge against the state. Some defense attorneys worry that jurors concerned about getting back to paying work become impatient and too eager to reach a quick verdict.

El Paso County example

Already there's evidence that a pay boost can improve jury duty turnout. El Paso County increased its jury pay to $40 and saw its jury show-up rate double. Those who serve on federal juries already receive $40 per day plus travel and parking, and only about 22 percent of those summoned fail to answer the call.

Tarrant County jury bailiff Paula Morales said giving a little extra is just the right thing to do. The last state-mandated jury pay raise was in 1954.

"I think their attitudes would be better when they show up. It is insulting to ask someone to serve for only $6," she said. "Right now, you'd have to serve a week in Tarrant County to get $40."

Dallas County officials support the bill in concept, although county legislative liaison Craig Pardue says he remains concerned that the county could get stuck with the expense. The bill proposes a $4 increase in conviction fees paid by defendants to provide the revenue to reimburse counties.

"It's one of those bills where we have to advance [the money] and get repaid," Mr. Pardue said. "We just don't want to lose money. We don't want it to be one of those things where we fund someone else's good idea."

Mr. Pardue said he preferred a similar bill that died earlier in the legislative session that would have created a $15 fine for those who don't show up for jury duty. Revenue from the fine would have been used to augment pay for jurors in lengthy trials.

Wanting to break even

Mesquite resident Mike Marquis, whose employer paid him while he was on jury duty last week, said he's not looking to make a profit off of jury service but would like to break even.

Mr. Marquis made a 30-mile round trip, paid $3 to park and was planning to spend $4 to $7 for lunch at the courthouse cafeteria. "If they just covered our out-of-pocket expenses, that would be enough," he said.

Just home on summer break from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, college student Cal Estee wasn't losing money as he waited to learn whether he'd be selected on Thursday. But it was cutting into his job-search plan.

Still, the 21-year-old said he wouldn't mind being selected because he is considering going to law school after graduation.

"If you were doing a job with hourly wages, it would be pretty hard to make up the lost money," he said.

Paul Benson, a retiree who lives in Allen, also said the higher pay wouldn't have made a difference in his decision to serve.

"But would I have had a bigger smile on my face when the check came? You bet I would."

Staff writer Dave Michaels in Austin and staff writers Paula Lavigne, Debra Dennis, Brandon Formby contributed to this report.
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BY THE NUMBERS

128,438 Dallas County residents was summoned for jury duty from Jan. 1 through May 1.

24,403 Dallas County residents showed up for jury duty from January through May 1.

They're paid $6 a day. There's no additional reimbursement for mileage, parking and meals.

The last state-mandated juror pay raise was in 1954.

[TexasStooge]

Cancer patient was 'an inspiration'

By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

COPPELL, Texas - Sheila Wessenberg, the uninsured Coppell woman who waged a public fight against breast cancer and resorted to panhandling on suburban street corners when her husband lost his job, died Sunday night at RHD Memorial Medical Center in Carrollton. She was 46.

Mrs. Wessenberg was the subject of a series of stories in The Dallas Morning News that followed her struggle to feed her family and to find doctors willing to treat her cancer after she lost her health insurance. The most recent installment, which appeared last Tuesday, described a surprise visit by Mrs. Wessenberg's six siblings after a doctor gave her only three months to live.

"When we got there, her color changed, her facial expression changed, she was her old self," her oldest brother, Brian Sabbagh of Westbury, N.Y, recalled Monday. "It was like she got some special injection of love from us. It gave us hope that maybe things would get better."

Her sister, Lori Beshears of Seabrook, returned for another visit over the weekend and found Mrs. Wessenberg struggling in extreme pain, despite potent painkillers. Finally, Mrs. Wessenberg asked to be taken to the emergency room Sunday afternoon when she could not breathe normally. She died four hours after her arrival at the hospital, presumably from complications of the spreading cancer, Ms. Beshears said.

"She told me yesterday that she thought she was getting ready to die," her sister recalled Monday. "She said, 'I'm afraid for my kids, but I'm not afraid to die.' "

Her husband, Bob Wessenberg, had taken the couple's two children, Amy, 8, and Alex, 5, home Sunday night and put them to bed, he said. Informed of his wife's death, he woke them and took them to RHD so they could say goodbye.

"We sat with her for a while and gave her kisses," Mr. Wessenberg said. "I felt they needed a chance to see her. But I didn't think it was going to be this quick."

Mrs. Wessenberg's breast cancer was diagnosed in May 2001, and she lost her health insurance about a year later after her husband was laid off from his computer-programming job in 2002. The loss meant Mrs. Wessenberg was forced to discontinue a second round of chemotherapy three years ago.

She began to receive free cancer care last year from Dr. Dennis H. Bierenbaum, a Carrollton oncologist, who read about her plight in the newspaper.

"She fought long and hard and was a brave cancer survivor for someone with stage 4 breast cancer," Dr. Bierenbaum said Monday. "Sheila was an inspiration to anyone who ever met or knew her."

Rod Collver, pastor of Living Hope Church in Coppell, said Mrs. Wessenberg was "strong and unselfish" during her cancer fight.

"I don't know if I've seen anyone so positive up to the end," he said. " She was bemoaning only what her kids were going to do without her. That's the only time she would break down and cry."

Mrs. Wessenberg was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and more than a decade ago moved to Dallas, where she met and married Mr. Wessenberg. They were living a secure middle-class life when he lost his six-figure job and could not find steady work.

Widespread media attention to their plight, including Mrs. Wessenberg's decision to panhandle for grocery money, brought an outpouring of gifts and financial donations from strangers. But the family has continued to struggle. Last week, Mrs. Wessenberg said she feared they would lose their home if they could not afford the property taxes this year. And one of their cars could be repossessed soon, she said.

"It's hard to believe we're still in this much trouble," she said in her last interview. "People have been wonderful to us over the years."

In addition to Ms. Beshears and Mr. Sabbagh, Mrs. Wessenberg is survived by two other sisters, Susan Lucarini of New York City and Elizabeth Corrigan of Gosher, N.Y.; two other brothers, Mark Sabbagh of Goshen and Christopher Sabbagh of New York City; and a stepson, Robert Wessenberg III of Saginaw.

Arrangements for a memorial service are incomplete with Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory in Dallas. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers contributions to the Sheila Wessenberg Fund at Frost Bank, Box 3003, Coppell, Texas 75019.
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DallasNews.com/Extra

Read previous stories about Sheila Wessenberg. (Registration Required)

[TexasStooge]

Wayward manatee entertains Texans

PORT MANSFIELD, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A manatee has wandered hundreds of miles out of its range to a fishing post at the southern tip of Texas, where it is delighting locals with its lumbering grace and penchant for showing flippers and belly.

It's believed to be a Florida manatee, an endangered sea mammal rarely found west of Alabama. Manatee sightings in Texas are rare, usually involving complicated rescues of sick or injured creatures.

But this manatee seems healthy, even playful, as it revels in the fresh water that rolls off boats being washed and the sea grasses that make this town a favorite for shallow-water sports fishing.

"This one may have just been curious and kept moving and said 'Hey, I found me a salad bar that has no competition," said Chuck Underwood, a Florida-based spokesman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Fish & Wildlife has asked locals to help monitor the animal, both for habitat research and in case it overstays the season. Water colder than 68 degrees can cause manatees to go into potentially fatal hypothermia that slows them down and causes them to stop eating.

Florida manatees, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee found throughout the Caribbean, are migratory and vegetarian. They live in saltwater but search by instinct for fresh water and underwater plants.

Once prevalent, their numbers have been depleted by humans – their only natural enemy. American Indians and early colonists hunted manatees for their bones, hides and blubber. More recently, they have been killed by encounters with boats, fishing lines, dams and canal locks.

One widely watched rescue took place in 1995, when a 1,400-pound manatee named "Sweet Pea" got stuck near a sewage treatment plant in Houston. It had to be strapped into a C-130 cargo plane and flown to Florida.

The Port Mansfield manatee showed up earlier this month and now appears almost daily.

It is believed to be about 8 feet long and weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. Locals think it's a male, though no one knows for sure. An average adult is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds.

"It shows up quite often," said Steve Basham, owner of the Port Mansfield marina. "Fresh water comes off the boats and he comes to drink the water."

Linda Neal, who works at the marina, said some people think the manatee also was hanging around last summer. If it was, she said, it wasn't quite so social.

"He comes right up to you in the boat slips," she said. "Several people have gotten to pet him."

Neal and others now have photos of the manatee socializing.

But Fish & Wildlife officials are asking people not to initiate contact with the manatee because it may lose its natural instincts.

"Our biggest concern is trying to keep the public from interfering with its movement," Underwood said. "Wildlife becomes dependent upon people, they quit being wild."

Neal said people are trying to heed the advice, but it's difficult.

"They've told us not to feed it, but he's coming up to the boats to drink the fresh water," she said. "We're not going to deprive him of fresh water."

[TexasStooge]

NorthPark names 4 new tenants

3 will be the only ones in Texas

By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - NorthPark Center's two-year, $170 million construction project is attracting attention – and tenants.

The Dallas mall announced four new tenants Monday at the International Council of Shopping Centers' convention in Las Vegas.

Three will be the only stores in Texas: upscale specialty apparel chain Custo Barcelona from Spain, Italy's luxury leather chain Tod's and cosmetics maker Lancôme.

It also signed Swiss watchmaker Movado.

NorthPark is "very much a topic at the convention. It's part of the buzz," said Craig Sorrels, president of CSWG Inc., a retail real estate consultant.

"This expansion is better than most people imagined, and people are saying it's going to be the dominant mall of the metroplex."

The Las Vegas show is the shopping center industry's "leasing mall" – where retail leases are signed. And NorthPark management has meetings scheduled every 15 to 20 minutes.

"We've had two meetings going at once," said NorthPark spokeswoman Christine Szalay. "We're just about done leasing."

Nancy Nasher, who's been planning the expansion since the mid-1990s, when she took the reins of the center from her father, Ray Nasher, said this year's show is especially exciting.

"We got the construction under way, and we're meeting with new people and people we've already signed deals with to go over details," she said.

Nordstrom and the new corridor connecting it to the existing mall will open Nov. 9, Ms. Nasher said. The second phase, which includes an AMC movie theater and a food court, will open in April.

NorthPark officials wouldn't confirm the rumored return of Barneys New York. Fashion industry publication Women's Wear Daily reported recently that Barneys was considering the Dallas mall.

[TexasStooge]

YMCA raises barriers at area pools (Updated)

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas YMCA is just days away from opening its outdoor swimming pools for the summer, but big changes are already underway to prevent another child from drowning.

They're planning to add a 12 to 15-inch extender arm on every fence already in place at their swimming facilities. The fences will be angled out at a 45-degree angle to try and keep kids out when the pool is closed.

"The safety of kids and families is our foremost priority in the association," said YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas CEO Gordon Echtenkamp.

Even though the fencing at the Y's Ledbetter Drive pool complied with all regulations, it wasn't enough to discourage some youngsters from climbing over and getting in the water on Sunday.

Kadarius Wagner and his friends were apparently trying to beat the heat on a day that the temperature approached 100. But Kadarius, 13, couldn't swim.

His friends panicked and ran. By the time help arrived, it was too late. Kadarius died late Sunday.

While YMCA officials said they were not at fault, they said they are deeply sorry for the Wagner family and are willing to do whatever they can to make it more difficult for young people to enter the pool when it is closed.

"We probably cannot build chain link fences tall enough to keep kids out of our swimming pools," Echtenkamp said. "They're going to figure out ways to crawl in, or crawl over, or crawl through, in some form or fashion. So we want to make sure that we can do everything we can to make them secure."

The planned improvements are likely to cost around $1,000 at each of the YMCA pools.

The swimming facilities will open on schedule this Memorial Day weekend.

[TexasStooge]

Collin leaders open dialog on 121 tolls

By JOLENE DeVITO / WFAA ABC 8

FRISCO, Texas - Should Highway 121 through Collin County become a toll road? County leaders will meet Wednesday night to launch formal talks about the debate.

Elected officials from Collin County's four most populous cities—Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano—will attend the session aimed at airing the pros and cons of making the county's portion of the increasingly-busy byway a pay-as-you-go proposition.

Frisco is fighting a move toward tolls, saying it should be a last option. The major north-south route to the city is already a toll road.

McKinney supports a Highway 121 toll plan as a way to help pay for road projects.

If Highway 121 through Collin County becomes a toll road, it's estimated that drivers would be charged about 15 cents per mile. That would put the price tag of a trip from Central Expressway to the Dallas North Tollway about $1.70.

The money would help pay for expansion of Highway 121 and future Collin County Road projects.

The Denton County portion of Highway 121 is already scheduled to be a toll road through Lewisville and The Colony.

Monday night's meeting is set for 6:30 at the Collin County Central Jury Room, 314 South Chestnut Street, in McKinney. All are welcome, but no public comment will be allowed.

[TexasStooge]

Unlicensed doctor may be treating Dallas patients

Investigation uncovers other problems at pain clinic

By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A former Dallas spine surgeon with a history of cocaine abuse who lost his license years ago may be secretly treating patients again.

It's just one of several concerns raised by patients at a local clinic where News 8 has uncovered a number of irregularities.

It also prompts a larger question: Why isn't the state, specifically the Worker's Compensation Commission, doing something about it?

Kelly Ransom of Dallas injured her back at work one year ago, but only now said she is getting the help she needs. That's because she believes her former doctors at the Dallas Physical Performance Center were more interested in profits than her progress.

The clinic is operated by Karl Kuchenbacker, a licensed chiropractor with a history of criminal offenses including drug possession and insurance fraud. Ransom wonders if it's still going on.

Ransom said as incentive to keep coming in for treatment, Kuchenbacker would reward patients with Wal-Mart gift cards.

When asked who was getting the cards, Ransom said, "Most, every, almost all of the people there."

"If you come five days a week, they give you a Wal-Mart card for $50," said former patient Delando Wright.

Wright said he received cards too, but little relief for his injured arm. One of the employees providing him therapy was a man everyone referred to as "Dr. Bruce."

"He would dictate all my notes, and look at me and examine me, and have me move my hands here and there and here and there," Wright recalled.

Ransom also said Dr. Bruce was in charge of conducting her pain management program.

Curious about the Wal-Mart cards and Dr. Bruce, News 8 decided to visit Kuchenbacker's clinic.

As it turns out, that Dr. Bruce is Bruce Hinkley, a former Dallas spine surgeon. Hinkley was investigated by News 8 six years ago for allegedly botching back operations and paralyzing patients. He was later stripped of his medical license in Oklahoma and Texas.

Kuchenbacker denied that Hinkley was passing himself off as a doctor, but former patients disagree.

When asked if patients knew he was not a licensed doctor, Hinkley said, "I can't say that everybody knows that, but I don't do the things that licensed doctors do."

But tell that to the folks at Travelers Insurance, which last December granted authorization to "Dr. Bruce" to treat Kelly Ransom.

Worker's compensation officials say they are concerned, not only about Hinkley handling patients, but the rewarding of patients with Wal-Mart cards - an apparent conflict with state law forbidding the "soliciting of patients."

"But that's certainly something that if he was practicing and treating worker's comp patients, we would want to have our Office of Investigations look into it," said Steve Quick of the Texas Worker's Compensation Commission.

Even the commission's own rules state, "paying ... an inducement relating to the delivery of medical benefits is prohibited."

When asked if he rewarded patients with Wal-Mart cards, Kuchenbacker said he did, adding that it was done "as a reward for being 100 percent compliant."

In addition to his criminal history, Kuchenbacker has a long history of administrative violations with the Worker's Compensation Commission.

Quick was asked how the office could not know it was going on, to which he replied, "I don't know that we don't know."

Quick said his agency receives frequent complaints which are always investigated But when injured worker Jeff Sorem recently tried to file a complaint about Kuchenbacker's clinic at the Worker's Compensation Commission field office in Dallas, he was told to contact another state agency.

"'And then you need to take the red and black form and call the State Board of Medical Examiners and you need to file the complaint with them,'" Sorem recalled being told.

Quick calls the treatment of Sorem "a mistake".

"We do take allegations of fraud extremely seriously, and this is unfortunate that that happened, but the individual should have been called," Quick said.

But the concerns over practices at the Kuchenbacker clinic go further than inducements to patients.

Sorem said Tuesday he has still not heard from TWCC investigators.

Meanwhile, the Worker's Compensation Commission is already under fire in the wake of a year-long News 8 investigation. State lawmakers are still deliberating over whether to overhaul the agency, or abolish it all together.

Either way, it looks as if big changes are on the way.

[TexasStooge]

Teacher put on leave over student comments in school paper

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth high school's journalism teacher is on leave because of a survey published in the school newspaper's latest edition.

The diversity survey in the Scorpion Voice newspaper at South Hills High School asked what students thought of the school's 64 percent Hispanic enrollment.

One student said there were "too many" Hispanics at South Hills; yet another said Hispanics have a high dropout rate and it's making the school look bad.

The reaction to the survey has been strongly negative.

"I think it was wrong what he said," said student Rachel Stovall.

"I think the comment was inappropriate," said student Steven Guerrero.

One student is worried about the school's image after the survey was published.

"So now, people definitely know our name, but not exactly what we want them to know us by," said student Brittany Ortega.

Fort Worth ISD officials said the controversy marks an isolated incident, and isn't indicative of what the school should be known for.

"We do diversity training so everybody - staff, students, everybody - we teach tolerance," said district spokeswoman Valerie Robertson. "This just does not fall into those lines."

The district put journalism teacher Amy Nelson on administrative leave pending an investigation. Calls by News 8 to Nelson's attorney were not returned.

Nelson did edit one student response that Hispanics should "head to the border" before distributing copies of the paper.

Additionally, some students defended her.

"I don't think she should've been suspended," one student said. "It's just wrong."

"I think it was wrong what he said, but I think there's a freedom to speech and and freedom to press," Stovall said.

However, courts have held that school districts have authority over school papers and who edits and writes for them.

Nelson has apologized for the survey; discipline for the teacher could range from suspension to dismissal.

Some students said regardless of the hurt feelings, they still hope everyone can come together in unity for graduation on Saturday.

[TexasStooge]

Suspicious package found at federal facility

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A hazardous materials team was summoned Tuesday to a federal building in northwest Dallas to check out a suspicious package.

Carl Rusnok, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the envelope was found in the mail room at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices in the 8100 block of Stemmons Freeway near Mockingbird Lane.

The envelope, which had been mailed from Turkey, contained several smaller envelopes that were all empty. Dallas Fire-Rescue officials discovered it was emitting about three times the normal amount of radiation.

FBI officials have taken over the investigation; officials said the radiation was low enough to not pose a threat to anyone nearby but high enough to not easily be explained.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Lavender said crews would be analyzing the substance by color and density, among other characteristics, to determine its makeup.

“Usually, these substances turn out to be something very common, but we can’t afford to take a chance,” he said.

The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Armed fugitive nabbed outside WFAA bureau

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - WFAA-TV staff members got caught up in a struggle involving an armed fugitive just outside News 8's Fort Worth bureau Tuesday afternoon.

Reporter Jim Douglas said he was working on a story in the newsroom when he heard "crashing and screaming" on the other side of the door.

In the building's lobby, private investigators were struggling to hold down 24-year-old Jaime Rangel, who faced drug and weapons charges.

A gun came flying out of the fracas, and WFAA photographer Russ Bauman kicked it away before taking it outside.

At that point, Rangel kept fighting right through despite mace and electric jolts from a tazer, so Douglas and photographer Mike Zukerman helped investigators subdue the fugitive.

"The suspect reached down for his leg and tried to secure a pistol," said private investigator Greg Frausto. "We tackled the suspect; we told him to remain calm, but he wouldn't. He kept on fighting us, fighting us, going for his leg."

The private investigators said Rangel was at the building looking for his lawyer, who was afraid there was going to be trouble.

Fort Worth police arrived quickly and took Rangel back to jail. He now faces additional charges.

[TexasStooge]

Lewisville worker pinned by equipment

LEWISVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Lewisville worker was injured Tuesday after he was pinned between two pieces of equipment.

Fire officials said a cherry-picker basket at ground level broke, wedging the worker against another cherry-picker in an equipment yard in the 1700 block of Highway 121.

The injured man was transported to Parkland Hospital by CareFlite helicopter for examination, to determine whether he suffered internal injuries.

Authorities said the patient was alert and appeared to be in fairly good condition given the ordeal.

[TexasStooge]

Parkland patient records flawed

Audit finds Medicaid reimbursement at risk

By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Parkland employees did such a poor job of registering patients that the public hospital risked losing millions of dollars in insurance reimbursement last year, according to an audit released Tuesday.

Hospital auditors reviewed $7 million of payments that were denied by Medicaid in a three-month period last year. The auditors found that basic information such as patient names, their gender and dates of birth were wrong on 3,646 bills, which resulted in payment rejections by the state-federal insurance program for low-income people.

"Overall, the admission and registration area is not functioning as intended," concluded Vic Summers, director of the hospital's internal audit services, in a report presented to the hospital's Board of Managers.

"When the proper information is not processed at registration, the result can be a delay in receiving monies owed, not receiving monies owed due to filing deadlines, or patients receiving benefits they are not entitled to," he noted in the lengthy report.

When Parkland's medical costs aren't paid by the state and federal governments or private insurance carriers, the bills must be covered by Dallas County taxpayers, who this year will contribute about $320 million, or 40 percent, of Parkland's operating costs.

Mistakes during registration often occurred in the emergency room, where patients could not produce proper identification. In many cases, incomplete or inaccurate information put into the hospital's computer system did not match Medicaid records.

The report noted that discrepancies could have been caught by checking names with Medicaid's Web site.

Dr. Lauren McDonald, the board's chairwoman, asked whether Parkland employees were lax because "there's a culture here that doesn't worry about money?"

Parkland officials attempted to assure the hospital board that they were taking steps to remedy the problem, including improving staff training and installing a new patient accounting system this fall. The board also was told that an unidentified hospital manager resigned during the rehabilitation effort.

"We've known we had registration issues for the past six months," said John Gates, the hospital's chief financial officer. "I think we're on our way to fixing it."

He estimated that the hospital could have expected to receive about $2 million of the $7 million it billed Medicaid during the three-month period. So far, the defective bills have snagged about $1 million, Mr. Gates said.

"We usually appeal 85 percent of the denials, and about half of those are successful," he explained. "Medicaid pays only 30 cents on each dollar that we bill."

The hospital audit also uncovered problems in identifying out-of-county patients who use the Dallas County charity hospital. Although hospital rules require that uninsured patients who live outside the county pay their own bills, some were mistakenly being enrolled in the hospital's managed-care program.

The review found that 195 residents from outside Dallas County were registered between July 1 and Oct. 6, 2004, in Parkland Health Plus, which offers care at little or no cost to its enrollees. A further sampling of the program's participants found that 27 percent had addresses outside Dallas County, and 13 percent had addresses that could not be found.

Hospital officials said such scofflaws might have registered in the program when they were living in Dallas County but later failed to acknowledge that they had moved across county lines.

"It just goes to show again that our out-of-county costs are always greater than we estimate in many areas," noted board member Louis Beecherl III.

Last year, Parkland officials estimated that the hospital was providing about $30 million of uncompensated care annually to uninsured residents outside Dallas County.

Dr. Ron Anderson, Parkland's president and chief executive officer, cautioned that these patients could be trying hard to avoid detection.

"People have been known to mislead us," he told the board.