Body found in Lake Ray Hubbard (Updated)
ROWLETT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Water search and rescue teams from Dallas and Garland found the body of a Garland woman in Lake Ray Hubbard Tuesday morning.
Police said 28-year-old Nadine Cross-Cooper was with a group of friends who ignored warning signs and jumped about 40 feet from a train trestle into the reservoir at Rowlett Lakeside Park shortly after midnight.
Cross-Cooper's friends swam to shore and called for help after she failed to surface.
Rescuers called off their nighttime search after three hours. Efforts were limited by heavy currents and limited visibility from overnight rains.
"According to the diver, it was a pretty hard surface," said Dallas Police Sgt. Larry Lewis. "(There's) a lot of pylons, rocks and other debris where this body was found."
Divers, boats and a helicopter resumed the search at 7 a.m. They found a body a short time later near the base of the railroad overpass.
Investigators said they believe alcohol may have played a factor in the woman's death.
"The combination of drinking—period—and doing anything is not smart, much less jumping off a railroad trestle," said rescue diver Mike Hamilton. "You're 40 feet off the water. If you're not an experienced diver or a good swimmer, you could have problems."
Teenagers who live in the area said it's common for people to sit on the trestle, drink and then dive into the water.
"I guess it's just a way of getting a thrill for them," said Chad Rothwell "They just have fun, jump off, and think nothing is really going to happen."
Her ex-husband told News 8 that Cross-Cooper was a good mom to their two children, ages 6 and 3.
WFAA-TV's Cynthia Vega and Dan Ronan contributed to this report.
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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Two men plagued by Klan stickers
Outraged businessmen say 'coward' is spreading lies
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - It appears that someone has it out for Raymond Littlejohn and C.E. Bailey.
Stickers falsely claiming the two men are holding a Ku Klux Klan membership drive are popping up at places such as a carwash and a YMCA in southern Dallas.
The stickers invite people to join them for barbecue and free beer at Mr. Littlejohn's auto repair shop in DeSoto on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the arrival of the news in Texas that slaves had been freed.
"Whoever is doing this is a coward," said Mr. Bailey, 50. "They've also put my children in danger."
The two men, who say they are not racists, think they know who is behind the stickers but can't prove it. Police say they may have a tough time with the case.
"The message is very, very offensive, but it's not threatening," said Dallas police Lt. Barry Payne.
Seagoville police Detective A.J. Jumper said his department became involved in early May after a Dallas hospital notified the agency of a sticker with a racist message and Mr. Bailey's name and phone number on it. Mr. Bailey lives in Seagoville.
"That's a weird way to attack someone," Detective Jumper said. "It's obviously very personal."
On June 3, more stickers were found at a carwash in the 3600 block of South Buckner Boulevard in Pleasant Grove. "I can't believe somebody would do that in this time and age," said Miguel Meza, whose father owns the carwash.
On Wednesday, workers at a YMCA on South Hampton Road near West Camp Wisdom Road reported finding several stickers on the front doors.
"It was something we wanted to make sure we got down immediately," said Sarah Bynom, a YMCA spokeswoman. "It was very distressing to our staff."
The stickers, in part, read: "If you are fed up with affirmative action and [expletive] getting every advantage," come to Mr. Littlejohn's shop for a membership meeting.
The stickers also said the event was co-sponsored by Mr. Bailey's construction company.
Mr. Littlejohn, 61, and Mr. Bailey, longtime friends, think the person behind the harassment is someone with whom they have had a contracting dispute. Police have questioned a man who denies any involvement.
Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Bailey and the man they suspect are white.
Lt. Payne said there may be little that police could do other than charge the person applying the stickers with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.
"It damages the guy's business from a libel standpoint," said Lt. Payne, who added that it is probably more of a civil matter. "It's obviously a situation we need to monitor because it has the potential to escalate into something very serious."
Seagoville police are asking anyone who finds a sticker to contact police and not touch the sticker.
Mr. Bailey said he has received harassing phone calls, two notes expressing condolences when there haven't been recent deaths in his family, and a sticker that advertised an escort service with the name of his wife, a photo of a voluptuous blonde and Mr. Littlejohn's phone number.
"This really escalated after the first of the year, and it's steadily getting worse," said Mr. Littlejohn, who has lived in DeSoto since 1973. "I don't need this crap."
Mr. Littlejohn, a Vietnam veteran, said he's not a racist. He said he helped save a black soldier whose leg had been badly injured. "I took his belt off and made a tourniquet," he said.
The most recently discovered stickers showed up across town, about 18 miles apart.
Mr. Bailey said he just wants the harassment to stop. He said the situation could become violent.
Mr. Littlejohn said he'll sue if he can prove who is harassing him.
"This is ridiculous as hell because I've got some good black friends," he said. "Someone is trying to start a racial problem."
Outraged businessmen say 'coward' is spreading lies
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - It appears that someone has it out for Raymond Littlejohn and C.E. Bailey.
Stickers falsely claiming the two men are holding a Ku Klux Klan membership drive are popping up at places such as a carwash and a YMCA in southern Dallas.
The stickers invite people to join them for barbecue and free beer at Mr. Littlejohn's auto repair shop in DeSoto on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the arrival of the news in Texas that slaves had been freed.
"Whoever is doing this is a coward," said Mr. Bailey, 50. "They've also put my children in danger."
The two men, who say they are not racists, think they know who is behind the stickers but can't prove it. Police say they may have a tough time with the case.
"The message is very, very offensive, but it's not threatening," said Dallas police Lt. Barry Payne.
Seagoville police Detective A.J. Jumper said his department became involved in early May after a Dallas hospital notified the agency of a sticker with a racist message and Mr. Bailey's name and phone number on it. Mr. Bailey lives in Seagoville.
"That's a weird way to attack someone," Detective Jumper said. "It's obviously very personal."
On June 3, more stickers were found at a carwash in the 3600 block of South Buckner Boulevard in Pleasant Grove. "I can't believe somebody would do that in this time and age," said Miguel Meza, whose father owns the carwash.
On Wednesday, workers at a YMCA on South Hampton Road near West Camp Wisdom Road reported finding several stickers on the front doors.
"It was something we wanted to make sure we got down immediately," said Sarah Bynom, a YMCA spokeswoman. "It was very distressing to our staff."
The stickers, in part, read: "If you are fed up with affirmative action and [expletive] getting every advantage," come to Mr. Littlejohn's shop for a membership meeting.
The stickers also said the event was co-sponsored by Mr. Bailey's construction company.
Mr. Littlejohn, 61, and Mr. Bailey, longtime friends, think the person behind the harassment is someone with whom they have had a contracting dispute. Police have questioned a man who denies any involvement.
Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Bailey and the man they suspect are white.
Lt. Payne said there may be little that police could do other than charge the person applying the stickers with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.
"It damages the guy's business from a libel standpoint," said Lt. Payne, who added that it is probably more of a civil matter. "It's obviously a situation we need to monitor because it has the potential to escalate into something very serious."
Seagoville police are asking anyone who finds a sticker to contact police and not touch the sticker.
Mr. Bailey said he has received harassing phone calls, two notes expressing condolences when there haven't been recent deaths in his family, and a sticker that advertised an escort service with the name of his wife, a photo of a voluptuous blonde and Mr. Littlejohn's phone number.
"This really escalated after the first of the year, and it's steadily getting worse," said Mr. Littlejohn, who has lived in DeSoto since 1973. "I don't need this crap."
Mr. Littlejohn, a Vietnam veteran, said he's not a racist. He said he helped save a black soldier whose leg had been badly injured. "I took his belt off and made a tourniquet," he said.
The most recently discovered stickers showed up across town, about 18 miles apart.
Mr. Bailey said he just wants the harassment to stop. He said the situation could become violent.
Mr. Littlejohn said he'll sue if he can prove who is harassing him.
"This is ridiculous as hell because I've got some good black friends," he said. "Someone is trying to start a racial problem."
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TexasStooge
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Missionaries aren't scared off by strife
Park Cities: They care for AIDS victims in Ethiopia despite gunfire
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Gunshots exploded across Addis Ababa.
The missionaries from Highland Park Presbyterian Church, in Ethiopia to help AIDS victims, quickly returned to their gated compound, locking themselves inside.
Case Martin, a 17-year-old aspiring doctor on his first international trip, rushed to a balcony. The first thing he saw was an ambulance swarming with protesters.
Others from the outreach team could see a burning bus from the compound across the street from the capital's main hospital. They later would learn that at least 26 were killed after security forces fired on people unhappy with recent election results.
The church members prayed for peace in Ethiopia – and for hail to disperse the crowds. A sudden downpour seemed to calm the gunfire, they said.
"It was surreal, but no one expressed any fear," said Joanne Bradley, the 72-year-old wife of Dr. Frank Bradley, the team's physician. "We were frustrated that we couldn't go out into the homes that day as we were supposed to do."
After the tense day in the compound and sporadic gunfire the next night, Garrick Roegner, one of the team leaders, asked if anyone wanted to cut the nine-day trip short. No one did.
Some of their fellow church members back home worried. But the Ethiopia team returned safely Monday afternoon after a 17-hour flight and said they never felt like they had been in danger.
The church plans to send another group next year.
"We are not going to change our commitment. We want to educate people around the world about the AIDS pandemic," said Mr. Roegner's wife, Dziu, the church's director of evangelism and outreach programs. She stayed home with their 10-month-old daughter.
"Africa is a huge area. We're just one church trying to do as much as we can," she said.
Besides Case, an incoming senior at St. Mark's School of Texas, the 15-member church team included a 76-year-old grandfather, high school students as young as 15, a pastor and several nurses.
When Dr. Bradley heard about the Hope for AIDS program organized by Serving in Mission, "his heart was touched," his wife said.
"He just felt like he was being called," Mrs. Bradley said after her return. "He was surprised when I said, 'Well, if you're going, I'm going, too.' "
The church members said they appreciate the holistic approach of their hosts' AIDS program, which provides medical care, food, rent, school uniforms, a burial if HIV-positive parents die and care for their children after they are gone.
Alleyways, dirt floors
The missionaries traveled a labyrinth of alleyways in the capital, visiting mud-walled rooms with dirt floors and corrugated tin roofs where AIDS widows raise their families. The team's medical staff made sure medicines were being taken as directed.
The Rev. Jay Lee, 31, said he will never forget a 30-year-old woman he met lying in a small dark room, dying of AIDS. He had never touched an AIDS patient, and he hoped his gesture helped ease her suffering.
"But we were blessed much more for our eyes to be opened to how fortunate we are to live in a country with access to good health care," Mr. Lee said.
Tom Bruff, 56, a resort consultant, said the numbers are overwhelming – almost 50,000 people a week die from AIDS in Africa.
"It's tough to put an individual face on it, but we saw that face," he said.
After the capital calmed down, team members painted an old building donated for a mission office, beaded bracelets with Ethiopian mothers and brought chalk and bubbles to an orphanage for children with HIV.
The Texans left with a deep respect for the Ethiopians they met, who they described as gentle, generous and dedicated to their families.
Case found the visit to the orphanage difficult. He was sitting on the sidelines watching the children play hopscotch with their new chalk when a boy about 5 came to sit beside him.
"He could see I was having a hard time knowing there wasn't a whole lot I could do ... . They were having a good time playing, but they didn't have much time left to live," he said.
Greatest gift
"He took out a butterfly made of copper wire and beads, probably his only possession, and put it in my pocket."
Case tried to give it back to him, but several times the little boy pushed it back in the teen's pocket.
For Case, Ethiopia had seemed foreign in some ways. There were no chain restaurants. Pollution was so thick it made his lungs burn to jog around the compound.
But while he was there, "it really felt like home."
"I was sad to leave," he said, "because I had grown so close to the people."
Park Cities: They care for AIDS victims in Ethiopia despite gunfire
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Gunshots exploded across Addis Ababa.
The missionaries from Highland Park Presbyterian Church, in Ethiopia to help AIDS victims, quickly returned to their gated compound, locking themselves inside.
Case Martin, a 17-year-old aspiring doctor on his first international trip, rushed to a balcony. The first thing he saw was an ambulance swarming with protesters.
Others from the outreach team could see a burning bus from the compound across the street from the capital's main hospital. They later would learn that at least 26 were killed after security forces fired on people unhappy with recent election results.
The church members prayed for peace in Ethiopia – and for hail to disperse the crowds. A sudden downpour seemed to calm the gunfire, they said.
"It was surreal, but no one expressed any fear," said Joanne Bradley, the 72-year-old wife of Dr. Frank Bradley, the team's physician. "We were frustrated that we couldn't go out into the homes that day as we were supposed to do."
After the tense day in the compound and sporadic gunfire the next night, Garrick Roegner, one of the team leaders, asked if anyone wanted to cut the nine-day trip short. No one did.
Some of their fellow church members back home worried. But the Ethiopia team returned safely Monday afternoon after a 17-hour flight and said they never felt like they had been in danger.
The church plans to send another group next year.
"We are not going to change our commitment. We want to educate people around the world about the AIDS pandemic," said Mr. Roegner's wife, Dziu, the church's director of evangelism and outreach programs. She stayed home with their 10-month-old daughter.
"Africa is a huge area. We're just one church trying to do as much as we can," she said.
Besides Case, an incoming senior at St. Mark's School of Texas, the 15-member church team included a 76-year-old grandfather, high school students as young as 15, a pastor and several nurses.
When Dr. Bradley heard about the Hope for AIDS program organized by Serving in Mission, "his heart was touched," his wife said.
"He just felt like he was being called," Mrs. Bradley said after her return. "He was surprised when I said, 'Well, if you're going, I'm going, too.' "
The church members said they appreciate the holistic approach of their hosts' AIDS program, which provides medical care, food, rent, school uniforms, a burial if HIV-positive parents die and care for their children after they are gone.
Alleyways, dirt floors
The missionaries traveled a labyrinth of alleyways in the capital, visiting mud-walled rooms with dirt floors and corrugated tin roofs where AIDS widows raise their families. The team's medical staff made sure medicines were being taken as directed.
The Rev. Jay Lee, 31, said he will never forget a 30-year-old woman he met lying in a small dark room, dying of AIDS. He had never touched an AIDS patient, and he hoped his gesture helped ease her suffering.
"But we were blessed much more for our eyes to be opened to how fortunate we are to live in a country with access to good health care," Mr. Lee said.
Tom Bruff, 56, a resort consultant, said the numbers are overwhelming – almost 50,000 people a week die from AIDS in Africa.
"It's tough to put an individual face on it, but we saw that face," he said.
After the capital calmed down, team members painted an old building donated for a mission office, beaded bracelets with Ethiopian mothers and brought chalk and bubbles to an orphanage for children with HIV.
The Texans left with a deep respect for the Ethiopians they met, who they described as gentle, generous and dedicated to their families.
Case found the visit to the orphanage difficult. He was sitting on the sidelines watching the children play hopscotch with their new chalk when a boy about 5 came to sit beside him.
"He could see I was having a hard time knowing there wasn't a whole lot I could do ... . They were having a good time playing, but they didn't have much time left to live," he said.
Greatest gift
"He took out a butterfly made of copper wire and beads, probably his only possession, and put it in my pocket."
Case tried to give it back to him, but several times the little boy pushed it back in the teen's pocket.
For Case, Ethiopia had seemed foreign in some ways. There were no chain restaurants. Pollution was so thick it made his lungs burn to jog around the compound.
But while he was there, "it really felt like home."
"I was sad to leave," he said, "because I had grown so close to the people."
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TexasStooge
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Mother seeks leniency for teen driver
PLEASANT GROVE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The mother of a 14-year-old charged with injuring eight children last month when she drove a car into a Pleasant Grove child care center said Tuesday that her daughter should be home as she awaits trial.
Jeanetta Bass, flanked by members of the New Black Panther Party, Praise Him Ministries and other civil-rights organizations at Dallas' Runyon Elementary School, said the family takes full responsibility for the May 24 accident.
The girl is being held by juvenile authorities, charged with eight counts of injury to a child. All eight children injured have been released from the hospital, and the Dream House Learning Center reopened June 3.
Praise Him Ministries founder Ronald Wright said Tuesday that the charges against the girl are too harsh and her sentence should be limited to community service.
"The road from victim to victory starts with forgiveness," Mr. Wright said. "She doesn't deserve to be treated like a serial killer."
But Olga Marquez, godmother of 10-year-old Rosemary Solis, said her family believes the girl should remain in custody. Rosemary suffered burns in the incident.
"It's been painful for us to see Rosemary where she is," Ms. Marquez said. "What she went through, she won't get over. She's scarred for life."
PLEASANT GROVE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The mother of a 14-year-old charged with injuring eight children last month when she drove a car into a Pleasant Grove child care center said Tuesday that her daughter should be home as she awaits trial.
Jeanetta Bass, flanked by members of the New Black Panther Party, Praise Him Ministries and other civil-rights organizations at Dallas' Runyon Elementary School, said the family takes full responsibility for the May 24 accident.
The girl is being held by juvenile authorities, charged with eight counts of injury to a child. All eight children injured have been released from the hospital, and the Dream House Learning Center reopened June 3.
Praise Him Ministries founder Ronald Wright said Tuesday that the charges against the girl are too harsh and her sentence should be limited to community service.
"The road from victim to victory starts with forgiveness," Mr. Wright said. "She doesn't deserve to be treated like a serial killer."
But Olga Marquez, godmother of 10-year-old Rosemary Solis, said her family believes the girl should remain in custody. Rosemary suffered burns in the incident.
"It's been painful for us to see Rosemary where she is," Ms. Marquez said. "What she went through, she won't get over. She's scarred for life."
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TexasStooge
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Project to reach new heights in patriotism
Irving: Firm creating U.S.' tallest flagpole for Wisconsin facility
By KRYSTLE FERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas/SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - When strong winds toppled a beloved 200-foot Wisconsin flagpole on New Year's Eve, the local community yearned for a replacement. With the help of a Texas man, the residents will get their wish today, around perhaps the most fitting time of the year: Flag Day.
Four 18-wheelers will carry massive pieces of the flagpole from North Texas to Sheboygan, Wis., where workers will mount the structure outside the Acuity Insurance headquarters building. At 338 feet – and more than 2 million pounds – the flagpole will become the country's tallest, company officials say, replacing the U.S. record held by the 308-foot flagpole in Laredo.
"If somebody wants to put up the tallest flagpole symbolizing freedom in the world, where do you go?" said Ben Salzmann, president of Acuity Insurance. "The answer is easy. You go to Texas."
More precisely, you go to Irving, where Steve Symonds, owner of America's Flags & Poles Inc., offered to build the formidable flagpole.
"It is just huge," Mr. Symonds said. "I've done some big things in my life, but this one is so massive."
Mr. Symonds was part of a team that constructed the Laredo flagpole. So for this $450,000 project, he has topped himself.
The 47-year-old Euless resident has been building flagpoles since he was 13. The interest started in Oklahoma City when Mr. Symonds' grandfather, Sy, built a flagpole for a neighbor who wanted to fly her late husband's military flag. Mr. Symonds' grandfather believed that everyone needed a flagpole, so he started a business and enlisted his grandson to help during summers.
Mr. Symonds remembers his grandfather waking him up around 5 a.m. to raise the flag in his yard every morning. At night, they took it down and folded it. "You just don't see that anymore," he said. "We're just too busy now. Most of us don't have that luxury."Mr. Symonds' grandfather died in 1977, but Mr. Symonds continues the tradition with his own business. Though he has made more than 20,000 flagpoles, Mr. Symonds leaves other patriotic impressions around town. In his white "flag van," with a flag painted on the side, passers-by can hear "America the Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" ringing from the rooftop speaker.
"We'll pull up to an intersection, and people will look around to see where it's coming from," Mr. Symonds said. "They'll see it's the van, and they'll smile. It's a little bit refreshing for us older generation."
At 6 a.m. Monday, the van blasted "God Bless America" while two forklifts lifted 10 steel flagpole sections onto trucks at a Carrollton business where the pole got a final paint job. Mr. Symonds stood nearby, wearing a construction hat with stars, stripes and eagle's wings.
After three months of building, the four-person crew began its thousand-mile, 16-hour trek to Wisconsin. It will take the team about two weeks to install a flagpole the height of a 30-story building.Dallas' Reunion Tower is about 560 feet tall, 222 feet taller than the flagpole.
About four people sewed the 7,200-square-foot flag that will grace the pole. At more than 300 pounds, the flag was no short order.
"It took two people to lift the flag and four to carry it once it was folded," said Laurie Larson, an America's Flags & Poles employee who has been sewing flags since 1980.
For Mr. Symonds, the challenge of the projects keeps him passionate about his flagpoles.
"I'm always doing something different," he said. "I'm either making one that's the tallest, or building one in a pond or in the middle of a lake."
For Sheboygan, the flag's meaning transcends record and size.
"This flag is being dedicated to every Sheboygan County veteran who lost their lives in service," Mr. Salzmann said. "This is the best symbol of support we could think of."
Irving: Firm creating U.S.' tallest flagpole for Wisconsin facility
By KRYSTLE FERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas/SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - When strong winds toppled a beloved 200-foot Wisconsin flagpole on New Year's Eve, the local community yearned for a replacement. With the help of a Texas man, the residents will get their wish today, around perhaps the most fitting time of the year: Flag Day.
Four 18-wheelers will carry massive pieces of the flagpole from North Texas to Sheboygan, Wis., where workers will mount the structure outside the Acuity Insurance headquarters building. At 338 feet – and more than 2 million pounds – the flagpole will become the country's tallest, company officials say, replacing the U.S. record held by the 308-foot flagpole in Laredo.
"If somebody wants to put up the tallest flagpole symbolizing freedom in the world, where do you go?" said Ben Salzmann, president of Acuity Insurance. "The answer is easy. You go to Texas."
More precisely, you go to Irving, where Steve Symonds, owner of America's Flags & Poles Inc., offered to build the formidable flagpole.
"It is just huge," Mr. Symonds said. "I've done some big things in my life, but this one is so massive."
Mr. Symonds was part of a team that constructed the Laredo flagpole. So for this $450,000 project, he has topped himself.
The 47-year-old Euless resident has been building flagpoles since he was 13. The interest started in Oklahoma City when Mr. Symonds' grandfather, Sy, built a flagpole for a neighbor who wanted to fly her late husband's military flag. Mr. Symonds' grandfather believed that everyone needed a flagpole, so he started a business and enlisted his grandson to help during summers.
Mr. Symonds remembers his grandfather waking him up around 5 a.m. to raise the flag in his yard every morning. At night, they took it down and folded it. "You just don't see that anymore," he said. "We're just too busy now. Most of us don't have that luxury."Mr. Symonds' grandfather died in 1977, but Mr. Symonds continues the tradition with his own business. Though he has made more than 20,000 flagpoles, Mr. Symonds leaves other patriotic impressions around town. In his white "flag van," with a flag painted on the side, passers-by can hear "America the Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" ringing from the rooftop speaker.
"We'll pull up to an intersection, and people will look around to see where it's coming from," Mr. Symonds said. "They'll see it's the van, and they'll smile. It's a little bit refreshing for us older generation."
At 6 a.m. Monday, the van blasted "God Bless America" while two forklifts lifted 10 steel flagpole sections onto trucks at a Carrollton business where the pole got a final paint job. Mr. Symonds stood nearby, wearing a construction hat with stars, stripes and eagle's wings.
After three months of building, the four-person crew began its thousand-mile, 16-hour trek to Wisconsin. It will take the team about two weeks to install a flagpole the height of a 30-story building.Dallas' Reunion Tower is about 560 feet tall, 222 feet taller than the flagpole.
About four people sewed the 7,200-square-foot flag that will grace the pole. At more than 300 pounds, the flag was no short order.
"It took two people to lift the flag and four to carry it once it was folded," said Laurie Larson, an America's Flags & Poles employee who has been sewing flags since 1980.
For Mr. Symonds, the challenge of the projects keeps him passionate about his flagpoles.
"I'm always doing something different," he said. "I'm either making one that's the tallest, or building one in a pond or in the middle of a lake."
For Sheboygan, the flag's meaning transcends record and size.
"This flag is being dedicated to every Sheboygan County veteran who lost their lives in service," Mr. Salzmann said. "This is the best symbol of support we could think of."
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TexasStooge
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State makes case for keeping girl from parents
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Cancer returned to a 13-year-old girl because her parents fought to prevent continuing treatment, the girl's former doctor testified Wednesday at a custody hearing.
Katie Wernecke has been in foster care since June 4, when Nueces County sheriff's officials took her from a family ranch where she had been hiding with her mother, Michele Wernecke.
Child Protective Services officials took custody after doctors told them that the Werneckes were risking Katie's life by refusing the radiation therapy for Hodgkin's Disease, a type of cancer that involves the lymph nodes.
Dr. Nejemie Alter diagnosed Katie's illness after she was taken to an emergency room with what her parents thought was pneumonia in January. Alter became her regular doctor and treated her illness. He said he ended the relationship because he was upset my extensive media coverage, including claims by the family that he didn't care about Katie.
Asked whether he thought the delay in continuing treatment had caused Katie's cancer to return, Alter said "yes."
The Werneckes believed that the four rounds of chemotherapy Katie had undergone destroyed the cancer and that radiation therapy was unnecessary and potentially harmful.
Edward Wernecke, Katie's father, told The Associated Press he feared the radiation would put Katie at a heightened risk for breast cancer, stunt her growth and cause learning problems.
Testifying for the state, Alter also said he was concerned that the family didn't fill a prescription for an antibiotic. When family attorneys cited reports that more radiation treatments could be harmful, Alter said those situations didn't apply to Katie.
The hearing was expected to conclude Wednesday afternoon.
The Werneckes contended that previous treatments had cured their daughter, but they learned at a hearing Friday that Katie's cancer had returned.
Juvenile Court Judge Carl Lewis said it was clear to him that Katie should remain in CPS custody and that the treatment must begin as soon as possible.
State law says the state must make its case for taking custody within 14 days of doing so.
On Tuesday, a federal judge declined the parents' request for a temporary restraining order against CPS because the case hasn't been resolved in state court.
While the judge on Friday said he had made his decision and didn't see the need for the hearing, he ultimately agreed to allow family lawyers the opportunity to review the scan and show that the Werneckes would not compromise care.
"There's been some question as to what the test says," Wernecke lawyer Luis Corona said. "We still have hope."
Nueces County attorney Thomas Stuckey said Tuesday that the Werneckes had changed their stance about treatment repeatedly and couldn't be trusted to see doctors' recommendations through.
"We're not trying to keep her from her parents, we're just trying to ensure that the treatments occur," he said. "I don't think that they would do the radiation treatments."
He said Katie was being prepared for a new round of chemotherapy treatment, which would be completed before radiation begins.
Katie's three brothers have been returned to their parents.
Peter Johnston, president of the Texas Center for Family Rights, said he was concerned about the way CPS had stepped in.
"In this particular case the state alleges medical neglect. Katie's parents, however, have shown considerable interest in the well-being of their daughter," he said. "It seems to be typical of CPS's aggressive attack on families."
CPS spokesman Darrel Azar did not immediately return a call for comment but has said it is the state's role to step in when a matter is life-threatening.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Cancer returned to a 13-year-old girl because her parents fought to prevent continuing treatment, the girl's former doctor testified Wednesday at a custody hearing.
Katie Wernecke has been in foster care since June 4, when Nueces County sheriff's officials took her from a family ranch where she had been hiding with her mother, Michele Wernecke.
Child Protective Services officials took custody after doctors told them that the Werneckes were risking Katie's life by refusing the radiation therapy for Hodgkin's Disease, a type of cancer that involves the lymph nodes.
Dr. Nejemie Alter diagnosed Katie's illness after she was taken to an emergency room with what her parents thought was pneumonia in January. Alter became her regular doctor and treated her illness. He said he ended the relationship because he was upset my extensive media coverage, including claims by the family that he didn't care about Katie.
Asked whether he thought the delay in continuing treatment had caused Katie's cancer to return, Alter said "yes."
The Werneckes believed that the four rounds of chemotherapy Katie had undergone destroyed the cancer and that radiation therapy was unnecessary and potentially harmful.
Edward Wernecke, Katie's father, told The Associated Press he feared the radiation would put Katie at a heightened risk for breast cancer, stunt her growth and cause learning problems.
Testifying for the state, Alter also said he was concerned that the family didn't fill a prescription for an antibiotic. When family attorneys cited reports that more radiation treatments could be harmful, Alter said those situations didn't apply to Katie.
The hearing was expected to conclude Wednesday afternoon.
The Werneckes contended that previous treatments had cured their daughter, but they learned at a hearing Friday that Katie's cancer had returned.
Juvenile Court Judge Carl Lewis said it was clear to him that Katie should remain in CPS custody and that the treatment must begin as soon as possible.
State law says the state must make its case for taking custody within 14 days of doing so.
On Tuesday, a federal judge declined the parents' request for a temporary restraining order against CPS because the case hasn't been resolved in state court.
While the judge on Friday said he had made his decision and didn't see the need for the hearing, he ultimately agreed to allow family lawyers the opportunity to review the scan and show that the Werneckes would not compromise care.
"There's been some question as to what the test says," Wernecke lawyer Luis Corona said. "We still have hope."
Nueces County attorney Thomas Stuckey said Tuesday that the Werneckes had changed their stance about treatment repeatedly and couldn't be trusted to see doctors' recommendations through.
"We're not trying to keep her from her parents, we're just trying to ensure that the treatments occur," he said. "I don't think that they would do the radiation treatments."
He said Katie was being prepared for a new round of chemotherapy treatment, which would be completed before radiation begins.
Katie's three brothers have been returned to their parents.
Peter Johnston, president of the Texas Center for Family Rights, said he was concerned about the way CPS had stepped in.
"In this particular case the state alleges medical neglect. Katie's parents, however, have shown considerable interest in the well-being of their daughter," he said. "It seems to be typical of CPS's aggressive attack on families."
CPS spokesman Darrel Azar did not immediately return a call for comment but has said it is the state's role to step in when a matter is life-threatening.
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One dead in East Texas helicopter crash
RUSK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A helicopter pilot was killed Wednesday morning when his chopper crashed in a highway median near the East Texas town of Rusk.
James Farmer, 47, of Jacksonville, died shortly after arriving at East Texas Medical Center-Rusk, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The crash happened 2 1/2 miles southeast of Rusk, about 40 miles south of Tyler. The helicopter was flying north along U.S. 69 when it apparently struck a power line and crashed in the median, said Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell.
There was no one else in the two-seat helicopter and there were no other injuries, DPS Trooper Jimmy Dunklin said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, Dunklin said.
RUSK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A helicopter pilot was killed Wednesday morning when his chopper crashed in a highway median near the East Texas town of Rusk.
James Farmer, 47, of Jacksonville, died shortly after arriving at East Texas Medical Center-Rusk, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The crash happened 2 1/2 miles southeast of Rusk, about 40 miles south of Tyler. The helicopter was flying north along U.S. 69 when it apparently struck a power line and crashed in the median, said Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell.
There was no one else in the two-seat helicopter and there were no other injuries, DPS Trooper Jimmy Dunklin said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, Dunklin said.
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Undocumented immigration up in Texas
LAREDO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Texas, which ranks second in undocumented immigrants behind California, is the only traditional destination state to increase its proportion of undocumented immigrants since 1990, according to a new study.
The proportion of undocumented immigrants in Texas -- which has 1.4 million immigrants -- increased from 11 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2002-2004, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The other traditional destination states -- California, New York, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey -- saw a decline in percentage or held steady.
The center estimates that 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the U.S. and almost two-thirds of them have come in the past 10 years. Most are young families from Mexico.
The study also shows that nearly one-third of the immigrants have at least one person in their immediate family who is a U.S. citizen.
"They're intertwined in American society to an unprecedented extent," said Roberto Surro, director of Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington.
The center prepared the study for the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future. That is made up of a bipartisan panel of Congress members; leaders from key business, labor and immigrant groups; and public policy and immigration experts.
The study used data from the March 2004 Current Population Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jeffrey Passel, who wrote the study, said Texas draws undocumented immigrants because of a strong economy.
"Even in the post-2000 period during an economic downturn, unauthorized migrants continued coming to the U.S.," Passel said. "The data suggests they are attracted by economic opportunities relative to their home countries."
LAREDO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Texas, which ranks second in undocumented immigrants behind California, is the only traditional destination state to increase its proportion of undocumented immigrants since 1990, according to a new study.
The proportion of undocumented immigrants in Texas -- which has 1.4 million immigrants -- increased from 11 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2002-2004, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The other traditional destination states -- California, New York, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey -- saw a decline in percentage or held steady.
The center estimates that 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the U.S. and almost two-thirds of them have come in the past 10 years. Most are young families from Mexico.
The study also shows that nearly one-third of the immigrants have at least one person in their immediate family who is a U.S. citizen.
"They're intertwined in American society to an unprecedented extent," said Roberto Surro, director of Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington.
The center prepared the study for the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future. That is made up of a bipartisan panel of Congress members; leaders from key business, labor and immigrant groups; and public policy and immigration experts.
The study used data from the March 2004 Current Population Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jeffrey Passel, who wrote the study, said Texas draws undocumented immigrants because of a strong economy.
"Even in the post-2000 period during an economic downturn, unauthorized migrants continued coming to the U.S.," Passel said. "The data suggests they are attracted by economic opportunities relative to their home countries."
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Restroom assault: Justice denied?
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES
PLANO, Texas - A Plano woman who said she was assaulted in a public restroom believes the Collin County justice system has let her down.
Sandra Vasquez said police originally let the alleged assailant go free. Now the District Attorney is dismissing Vasquez' story, and both agencies say the case is closed.
Vasquez believes this is a case of justice denied.
The alleged incident took place March 6 at a Wal-Mart store in Plano. Surveillance tapes obtained by WFAA-TV show a six-year-old girl and her 26-year-old uncle entering the same bathroom just ahead of Vasquez.
An unidentified acquaintance waited outside.
Vasquez said she thought she was alone until she was about to leave the stall. "I stood up and I had a weird feeling that something was not right," she said. "I looked to my right and there was this man hunched over in my stall—in my face."
Vasquez said his face and shoulders were about a foot from her face.
She said she screamed and tried to escape, but the suspect blocked the door.
"The first thing that came to my mind, is he going to kill me? He's going to rape me; I'm dead. I'm never getting out of here."
The tape shows Vasquez did escape as the acquaintance showed up to lead the man and the girl out.
Wal-Mart employees heard the screams and called police. But instead of taking the suspect into custody, police let him go.
The suspect's mother, who was also at the store, convinced police that her son has the mental capacity of a seven-year-old.
"I couldn't understand for the life of me why they didn't arrest this man," Vasquez said. "I couldn't understand; they just let him walk."
News 8 has learned that despite the alleged developmental issues, the suspect—Brent Clay—has numerous recent criminal cases in Garza, Denton and Collin counties.
Clay is accused of trespassing into a stranger's apartment and hiding under her bed in a Denton County case.
News 8 has also learned that Clay is licensed to drive.
"How does it feel? I go between rage and disgust," Vasquez said. "I am disgusted with them; I am thoroughly disgusted with them."
Stan Vasquez said he was so outraged that he complained to his state senator and the governor about the treatment of his wife's complaint.
Only then—on April 5, one month after the original incident—did Plano police issue Clay a citation for disorderly conduct, Stan Vasquez said.
Police said they cannot prove that anything more serious took place in the Wal-Mart restroom.
"I know she must be traumatized, as my wife would be or anyone else's—but we here are bound by state law as to what charges we can file," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
The Collin County District Attorney's office also rejected Vasquez' claim that she had been unlawfully restrained, calling it a "delayed outcry."
"Based on what we have before us, we'd make the same decision today," Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis said.
Vasquez feels the DA is ignoring the facts. "I was never heard. Nobody would ever listen to me as to what happened to me; my story was diminished," she said.
Vasquez said she is still traumatized and is undergoing counseling.
Stan Vasquez said he will continue to seek justice against a man he believes is dangerous. "They were banking on us giving up," he said. "I'll be damned if I give up."
Clay was fined $300 for the disorderly conduct citation. His deadline to settle the fine was May 25, but the ticket remains unpaid.
News 8 was unable to contact Clay, and his attorney declined the opportunity to comment.
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES
PLANO, Texas - A Plano woman who said she was assaulted in a public restroom believes the Collin County justice system has let her down.
Sandra Vasquez said police originally let the alleged assailant go free. Now the District Attorney is dismissing Vasquez' story, and both agencies say the case is closed.
Vasquez believes this is a case of justice denied.
The alleged incident took place March 6 at a Wal-Mart store in Plano. Surveillance tapes obtained by WFAA-TV show a six-year-old girl and her 26-year-old uncle entering the same bathroom just ahead of Vasquez.
An unidentified acquaintance waited outside.
Vasquez said she thought she was alone until she was about to leave the stall. "I stood up and I had a weird feeling that something was not right," she said. "I looked to my right and there was this man hunched over in my stall—in my face."
Vasquez said his face and shoulders were about a foot from her face.
She said she screamed and tried to escape, but the suspect blocked the door.
"The first thing that came to my mind, is he going to kill me? He's going to rape me; I'm dead. I'm never getting out of here."
The tape shows Vasquez did escape as the acquaintance showed up to lead the man and the girl out.
Wal-Mart employees heard the screams and called police. But instead of taking the suspect into custody, police let him go.
The suspect's mother, who was also at the store, convinced police that her son has the mental capacity of a seven-year-old.
"I couldn't understand for the life of me why they didn't arrest this man," Vasquez said. "I couldn't understand; they just let him walk."
News 8 has learned that despite the alleged developmental issues, the suspect—Brent Clay—has numerous recent criminal cases in Garza, Denton and Collin counties.
Clay is accused of trespassing into a stranger's apartment and hiding under her bed in a Denton County case.
News 8 has also learned that Clay is licensed to drive.
"How does it feel? I go between rage and disgust," Vasquez said. "I am disgusted with them; I am thoroughly disgusted with them."
Stan Vasquez said he was so outraged that he complained to his state senator and the governor about the treatment of his wife's complaint.
Only then—on April 5, one month after the original incident—did Plano police issue Clay a citation for disorderly conduct, Stan Vasquez said.
Police said they cannot prove that anything more serious took place in the Wal-Mart restroom.
"I know she must be traumatized, as my wife would be or anyone else's—but we here are bound by state law as to what charges we can file," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
The Collin County District Attorney's office also rejected Vasquez' claim that she had been unlawfully restrained, calling it a "delayed outcry."
"Based on what we have before us, we'd make the same decision today," Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis said.
Vasquez feels the DA is ignoring the facts. "I was never heard. Nobody would ever listen to me as to what happened to me; my story was diminished," she said.
Vasquez said she is still traumatized and is undergoing counseling.
Stan Vasquez said he will continue to seek justice against a man he believes is dangerous. "They were banking on us giving up," he said. "I'll be damned if I give up."
Clay was fined $300 for the disorderly conduct citation. His deadline to settle the fine was May 25, but the ticket remains unpaid.
News 8 was unable to contact Clay, and his attorney declined the opportunity to comment.
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Mystery deepens in missing woman case
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DUNCANVILLE, Texas — The search intensified Wednesday for a Duncanville woman who has been missing for more than two weeks.
Rebeca Gabriella Nuño, 21, was last seen on May 31 in Cedar Hill. That same day, she called a friend to say she had been abducted.
This week, Nuño telephoned her parents and told them authorities should stop looking for her, but Duncanville police have instead stepped up their efforts to find the missing woman.
"It's pretty hard, because she's got three girls and they've been asking for her," said Miguel Nuño, Rebeca's father. "We don't have answers."
For two-year-old Michelle, five-year-old Naomi and three-year-old Cassandra, the lake in their grandfather's back yard is a pleasant distraction from the otherwise constant worry.
Rebeca Nuño reported her own abduction on May 31. Police said she may be with a Hispanic male in his mid-20s, driving either a black, mid-90s Chevy pickup truck with red flames or a small green Honda.
But police were never sure she didn't just leave on her own.
"We're trying to rule out foul play, that maybe—hopefully—it's not as bad as it seems, that maybe she just ran off," said Duncanville police spokesman Eddie Edwards.
On Monday, Nuño's father got the call he had been waiting for. But Rebeca refused to speak English, and what she did say left him more worried than before.
Miguel Nuño said Rebeca did not say she was OK; neither would she answer when asked if she was in the United States or Mexico.
Rebeca's grandparents will care for her children until they see their daughter safe. Until then, police say the investigation will continue.
"We don't know if its one of these 'runaway bride' things we saw recently, but we would like some proof she's fine," Edwards said.
Police have posted fliers hoping to bring in more clues, and they have a message for Rebeca Nuño: If you are, in fact, safe and free, please come in and prove it.
While there are no plans for prosecution or punishment, police say the investigation will proceed until her safety can be assured.
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DUNCANVILLE, Texas — The search intensified Wednesday for a Duncanville woman who has been missing for more than two weeks.
Rebeca Gabriella Nuño, 21, was last seen on May 31 in Cedar Hill. That same day, she called a friend to say she had been abducted.
This week, Nuño telephoned her parents and told them authorities should stop looking for her, but Duncanville police have instead stepped up their efforts to find the missing woman.
"It's pretty hard, because she's got three girls and they've been asking for her," said Miguel Nuño, Rebeca's father. "We don't have answers."
For two-year-old Michelle, five-year-old Naomi and three-year-old Cassandra, the lake in their grandfather's back yard is a pleasant distraction from the otherwise constant worry.
Rebeca Nuño reported her own abduction on May 31. Police said she may be with a Hispanic male in his mid-20s, driving either a black, mid-90s Chevy pickup truck with red flames or a small green Honda.
But police were never sure she didn't just leave on her own.
"We're trying to rule out foul play, that maybe—hopefully—it's not as bad as it seems, that maybe she just ran off," said Duncanville police spokesman Eddie Edwards.
On Monday, Nuño's father got the call he had been waiting for. But Rebeca refused to speak English, and what she did say left him more worried than before.
Miguel Nuño said Rebeca did not say she was OK; neither would she answer when asked if she was in the United States or Mexico.
Rebeca's grandparents will care for her children until they see their daughter safe. Until then, police say the investigation will continue.
"We don't know if its one of these 'runaway bride' things we saw recently, but we would like some proof she's fine," Edwards said.
Police have posted fliers hoping to bring in more clues, and they have a message for Rebeca Nuño: If you are, in fact, safe and free, please come in and prove it.
While there are no plans for prosecution or punishment, police say the investigation will proceed until her safety can be assured.
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TexasStooge
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Man held in '91 Arlington slaying
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON, Texas - James Kunkel has held in a world of emotions since his 2-year-old daughter, Desiree, died in Arlington in 1991.
"It's hard because you keep it all bottled up inside," he said. "I've never really just let my emotions flow."
But a big weight was lifted Wednesday, he said, when Arlington cold-case detectives called him with news he had waited more than 14 years to get: An arrest was made in Desiree's death.
"I've been taking deep breaths all day," he said.
Ronnie Gerald Kemp was arrested early Wednesday on a murder warrant in connection with the toddler's death. Mr. Kemp was dating Desiree's mother at the time and has been a suspect since her death, police said.
Desiree suffered severe brain trauma in an East Arlington apartment while Mr. Kemp was baby-sitting the toddler and her 4-year-old sister, Angelica, police said. Desiree was in a coma for five days before she died Feb. 7, 1991.
Department spokeswoman Christy Gilfour said Angelica had "difficulties" after her sister's death. At one point, Angelica was interviewed by social service workers. Ms. Gilfour said the tapes of those interviews "proved to be helpful" to detectives.
"She is a witness to the offense," said Sgt. Mark Simpson, who supervises the department's cold-case unit.
Mr. Kunkel said his daughters were mentally and physically abused during that time, while he was stationed in California with the Navy. He was awarded custody of Angelica shortly after Desiree's death, he said. She now lives with her mother in Pennsylvania and recently graduated from high school. Mr. Kunkel said he hasn't talked to either woman in more than six years, but that he is relieved Mr. Kemp was arrested.
"I know all the evidence that they've got," Mr. Kunkel said. "I figured someday someone would listen to it and look at all of it and come to a conclusion that Mr. Kemp is responsible for the death of my daughter."
Desiree's mother declined to comment Wednesday.
Cold-case detectives John Bell and Jim Ford spent about four months reviewing case documents, evidence and statements and re-interviewing witnesses. Mr. Kunkel knew the case was being looked at again, but was still taken aback when detectives called him Wednesday.
"I think it was one of those things where he waited 14 years for this and I guess he thought we wouldn't be able to get the case to this point of resolution," Sgt. Simpson said. "He was surprised."
Mr. Kemp, of Winnsboro, was arrested at his workplace, Microplex Electric in Grand Prairie. No one at the business could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mr. Kemp's arrest was the third for the department's cold-case unit, which began in November. The department has 64 remaining cold cases dating back as far as 1968.
Police said the Tarrant County district attorney's office plans to pursue murder charges against Mr. Kemp, who is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Sgt. Simpson said the arrest brought closure to detectives.
"There's always a sense of satisfaction because no matter how old the case is and how long it's lain dormant, these people deserve resolution," Sgt. Simpson said. "To be able to do that even after all these years, it creates a sense of satisfaction for our investigators."
It did the same for Desiree's father.
"The emotions are flowing pretty high: a lot of frustration, a lot of excitement and joy and a lot of tears to be shed later tonight," Mr. Kunkel said. "Even more if he's convicted and sent to jail for life."
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON, Texas - James Kunkel has held in a world of emotions since his 2-year-old daughter, Desiree, died in Arlington in 1991.
"It's hard because you keep it all bottled up inside," he said. "I've never really just let my emotions flow."
But a big weight was lifted Wednesday, he said, when Arlington cold-case detectives called him with news he had waited more than 14 years to get: An arrest was made in Desiree's death.
"I've been taking deep breaths all day," he said.
Ronnie Gerald Kemp was arrested early Wednesday on a murder warrant in connection with the toddler's death. Mr. Kemp was dating Desiree's mother at the time and has been a suspect since her death, police said.
Desiree suffered severe brain trauma in an East Arlington apartment while Mr. Kemp was baby-sitting the toddler and her 4-year-old sister, Angelica, police said. Desiree was in a coma for five days before she died Feb. 7, 1991.
Department spokeswoman Christy Gilfour said Angelica had "difficulties" after her sister's death. At one point, Angelica was interviewed by social service workers. Ms. Gilfour said the tapes of those interviews "proved to be helpful" to detectives.
"She is a witness to the offense," said Sgt. Mark Simpson, who supervises the department's cold-case unit.
Mr. Kunkel said his daughters were mentally and physically abused during that time, while he was stationed in California with the Navy. He was awarded custody of Angelica shortly after Desiree's death, he said. She now lives with her mother in Pennsylvania and recently graduated from high school. Mr. Kunkel said he hasn't talked to either woman in more than six years, but that he is relieved Mr. Kemp was arrested.
"I know all the evidence that they've got," Mr. Kunkel said. "I figured someday someone would listen to it and look at all of it and come to a conclusion that Mr. Kemp is responsible for the death of my daughter."
Desiree's mother declined to comment Wednesday.
Cold-case detectives John Bell and Jim Ford spent about four months reviewing case documents, evidence and statements and re-interviewing witnesses. Mr. Kunkel knew the case was being looked at again, but was still taken aback when detectives called him Wednesday.
"I think it was one of those things where he waited 14 years for this and I guess he thought we wouldn't be able to get the case to this point of resolution," Sgt. Simpson said. "He was surprised."
Mr. Kemp, of Winnsboro, was arrested at his workplace, Microplex Electric in Grand Prairie. No one at the business could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mr. Kemp's arrest was the third for the department's cold-case unit, which began in November. The department has 64 remaining cold cases dating back as far as 1968.
Police said the Tarrant County district attorney's office plans to pursue murder charges against Mr. Kemp, who is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Sgt. Simpson said the arrest brought closure to detectives.
"There's always a sense of satisfaction because no matter how old the case is and how long it's lain dormant, these people deserve resolution," Sgt. Simpson said. "To be able to do that even after all these years, it creates a sense of satisfaction for our investigators."
It did the same for Desiree's father.
"The emotions are flowing pretty high: a lot of frustration, a lot of excitement and joy and a lot of tears to be shed later tonight," Mr. Kunkel said. "Even more if he's convicted and sent to jail for life."
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TexasStooge
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Two toll roads take priority in North Texas
By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The North Texas Tollway Authority met Tuesday to focus on the future of two roads that are vital to future growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.
In Dallas County, there is the planned eastern extension of the President George Bush Turnpike, and in Tarrant and Johnson counties there is the long-awaited Southwest Parkway. The price tags for both are up tremendously, and now some in Tarrant County worry that its planned toll road might lose out to the one in the works for Dallas County.
The roads through south Fort Worth grow more congested every day, even into Johnson County.
"It's backed up," one driver said. "People drive crazy."
By 2020, the planned Southwest Parkway could carry 66,000 vehicles a day. The eight-mile toll road will run southwest from downtown across the Trinity between Hulen and Bryant Irvin to Dirks Road.
This week the federal government gave the green light to the toll road after 30 years of planning, but now that the cost has more than doubled some worry the parkway will compete with the eastern expansion of the Bush Turnpike.
NTTA chairman David Blair worked to calm any fears about a North Texas toll road rivalry.
"Will Fort Worth be pitted against Dallas in the building? Absolutely not, absolutely not," Blair said.
The George Bush expansion will cost 70 percent more, but it's closer to construction. It will run through Garland, Rowlett and Sachse before terminating at Interstate 30 near Lake Ray Hubbard.
The tollway authority chairman, along with TxDOT, promised funding will be found for both new roads - and the parkway may even be extended.
"Cleburne didn't make a lot of sense two years ago, but it makes great sense today," said Blair.
The cost of concrete, steel and style goes up each year. Many say there's no time to waste.
By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The North Texas Tollway Authority met Tuesday to focus on the future of two roads that are vital to future growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.
In Dallas County, there is the planned eastern extension of the President George Bush Turnpike, and in Tarrant and Johnson counties there is the long-awaited Southwest Parkway. The price tags for both are up tremendously, and now some in Tarrant County worry that its planned toll road might lose out to the one in the works for Dallas County.
The roads through south Fort Worth grow more congested every day, even into Johnson County.
"It's backed up," one driver said. "People drive crazy."
By 2020, the planned Southwest Parkway could carry 66,000 vehicles a day. The eight-mile toll road will run southwest from downtown across the Trinity between Hulen and Bryant Irvin to Dirks Road.
This week the federal government gave the green light to the toll road after 30 years of planning, but now that the cost has more than doubled some worry the parkway will compete with the eastern expansion of the Bush Turnpike.
NTTA chairman David Blair worked to calm any fears about a North Texas toll road rivalry.
"Will Fort Worth be pitted against Dallas in the building? Absolutely not, absolutely not," Blair said.
The George Bush expansion will cost 70 percent more, but it's closer to construction. It will run through Garland, Rowlett and Sachse before terminating at Interstate 30 near Lake Ray Hubbard.
The tollway authority chairman, along with TxDOT, promised funding will be found for both new roads - and the parkway may even be extended.
"Cleburne didn't make a lot of sense two years ago, but it makes great sense today," said Blair.
The cost of concrete, steel and style goes up each year. Many say there's no time to waste.
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6-year-old shoots 4-year-old brother
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - Neighbors in a southeast Fort Worth neighborhood are wondering how a 4-year-old boy could have been shot by his 6-year-old brother with a hunting rifle.
The shooting happened Monday in the 2800 block of Fairway Drive. The 4-year-old, whose name has not been released, was shot in the arm and remains in stable condition.
Neighbors said they like the boys a lot, and they're just trying to figure out how the shooting could have happened.
"I just heard a big shot, like 'boom'," said neighbor Attimond Chandler.
The boys' parents told police their son was shot by his brother after he somehow got a hunting rifle out of the closet where it was left.
"It's strange for a little kid to have an accident like that with a big rifle," Chandler said. "It seems like there was something more to it."
Family friend B.J. Jiles said there was indeed more to it: the boy's obsession with video games.
"I trade out (video) cartridges with them," said Jiles. "In the 007 (game), it shows you how to pick up bullets, reload the gun, take the scope out ..."
Jiles thinks the games blurred the line between fantasy and reality for the boy. But whatever the reason for the shooting, it's a tough reminder about the importance of gun safety.
Police have not made any arrests or filed any charges in this case, and they said Child Protective Services is also investigating. However, none of the children have been removed from the parents home, a move that is not anticipated at this time.
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - Neighbors in a southeast Fort Worth neighborhood are wondering how a 4-year-old boy could have been shot by his 6-year-old brother with a hunting rifle.
The shooting happened Monday in the 2800 block of Fairway Drive. The 4-year-old, whose name has not been released, was shot in the arm and remains in stable condition.
Neighbors said they like the boys a lot, and they're just trying to figure out how the shooting could have happened.
"I just heard a big shot, like 'boom'," said neighbor Attimond Chandler.
The boys' parents told police their son was shot by his brother after he somehow got a hunting rifle out of the closet where it was left.
"It's strange for a little kid to have an accident like that with a big rifle," Chandler said. "It seems like there was something more to it."
Family friend B.J. Jiles said there was indeed more to it: the boy's obsession with video games.
"I trade out (video) cartridges with them," said Jiles. "In the 007 (game), it shows you how to pick up bullets, reload the gun, take the scope out ..."
Jiles thinks the games blurred the line between fantasy and reality for the boy. But whatever the reason for the shooting, it's a tough reminder about the importance of gun safety.
Police have not made any arrests or filed any charges in this case, and they said Child Protective Services is also investigating. However, none of the children have been removed from the parents home, a move that is not anticipated at this time.
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TexasStooge
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Father's disturbed grave upsets son
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas man is upset with the cemetery where his father was laid to rest. The burial plot at Lincoln Memorial Park cemetery has been disturbed.
"He's supposed to be right here," said Robert Lee, pointing to the spot where a mound of dirt has been piled on his father's grave.
The headstone was moved to a spot nearby.
"They should've notified somebody," Lee said. "They just came in and just dumped some on their own, but we bought and paid for this."
Heavy equipment excavated an area next to his father's plot for the installation of 600 crypts for future burials.
Lee said the former tranquility of the site in southeast Dallas is now gone.
"It's really hard to come out here, but I've got to do it," he said. "I would come out here two or three times a week ... I come out here to talk to my daddy."
The cemetery explained this is the way it prepares for more burial plots. The excavated area is covered with gravel, drainage pipes are laid and the crypts are laid out.
Max Jackson, general manager at Lincoln Memorial Park, declined an on-camera interview, but told Channel 8, "This is something we have to do in our business. We certainly haven't done anything wrong."
Lee, however, disagrees with that assessment.
"It makes me mad," he said. "It makes me real mad." The cemetery spokesman said some of the headstones are being replaced. Next Monday there are plans to spray the excavated area with hydromulch.
Jackson said once fresh grass covers the dirt, no one will be able to tell there had been any construction.
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas man is upset with the cemetery where his father was laid to rest. The burial plot at Lincoln Memorial Park cemetery has been disturbed.
"He's supposed to be right here," said Robert Lee, pointing to the spot where a mound of dirt has been piled on his father's grave.
The headstone was moved to a spot nearby.
"They should've notified somebody," Lee said. "They just came in and just dumped some on their own, but we bought and paid for this."
Heavy equipment excavated an area next to his father's plot for the installation of 600 crypts for future burials.
Lee said the former tranquility of the site in southeast Dallas is now gone.
"It's really hard to come out here, but I've got to do it," he said. "I would come out here two or three times a week ... I come out here to talk to my daddy."
The cemetery explained this is the way it prepares for more burial plots. The excavated area is covered with gravel, drainage pipes are laid and the crypts are laid out.
Max Jackson, general manager at Lincoln Memorial Park, declined an on-camera interview, but told Channel 8, "This is something we have to do in our business. We certainly haven't done anything wrong."
Lee, however, disagrees with that assessment.
"It makes me mad," he said. "It makes me real mad." The cemetery spokesman said some of the headstones are being replaced. Next Monday there are plans to spray the excavated area with hydromulch.
Jackson said once fresh grass covers the dirt, no one will be able to tell there had been any construction.
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TexasStooge
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Judge: CPS to keep cancer-stricken girl
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - A judge ruled Thursday that the state will retain custody of a 13-year-old girl who was taken from her parents after they refused to continue her cancer treatments.
Katie Wernecke, who is suffering from Hodgkin's Disease, will remain with Child Protective Services indefinitely, juvenile court judge Carl Lewis ruled. Katie was scheduled to see doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on Thursday.
Michele and Edward Wernecke, Katie's parents, had opposed radiation treatment for their daughter, saying the cancer had left after four rounds of chemotherapy and that the radiation was harmful and unnecessary.
CPS officials took custody of Katie earlier this month after her doctor told them the treatment was a life-or-death matter. At a hearing Friday, the state presented evidence that the cancer had returned.
The mother testified during the custody hearing Wednesday that she would follow doctors' recommendations for treatment.
Hodgkin's Disease is a type of cancer that involves the lymph nodes.
The girl's former doctor testified earlier Wednesday that he thought Katie's cancer returned because of the family's refusal to submit Katie to another round of therapy.
A Nueces County prosecutor, Thomas Stuckey, said the family had repeatedly changed its stance about treatment and couldn't be trusted to follow through on doctors' recommendations.
"We're not trying to keep her from her parents. We're just trying to ensure that the treatments occur," he said. "I don't think that they would do the radiation treatments."
In his testimony Wednesday, Dr. Nejemie Alter, the first physician to see Katie after she became ill in January, said he is no longer Katie's doctor because he was upset by extensive media coverage, including allegations by Ms. Wernecke and her husband, Edward, that he didn't care about Katie.
When state lawyers asked Ms. Wernecke on Wednesday whether she would agree to chemotherapy followed by radiation, she said, "If that's what [doctors] recommend, yes."
Judge Lewis ruled last week that treatments should resume as soon as possible.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - A judge ruled Thursday that the state will retain custody of a 13-year-old girl who was taken from her parents after they refused to continue her cancer treatments.
Katie Wernecke, who is suffering from Hodgkin's Disease, will remain with Child Protective Services indefinitely, juvenile court judge Carl Lewis ruled. Katie was scheduled to see doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on Thursday.
Michele and Edward Wernecke, Katie's parents, had opposed radiation treatment for their daughter, saying the cancer had left after four rounds of chemotherapy and that the radiation was harmful and unnecessary.
CPS officials took custody of Katie earlier this month after her doctor told them the treatment was a life-or-death matter. At a hearing Friday, the state presented evidence that the cancer had returned.
The mother testified during the custody hearing Wednesday that she would follow doctors' recommendations for treatment.
Hodgkin's Disease is a type of cancer that involves the lymph nodes.
The girl's former doctor testified earlier Wednesday that he thought Katie's cancer returned because of the family's refusal to submit Katie to another round of therapy.
A Nueces County prosecutor, Thomas Stuckey, said the family had repeatedly changed its stance about treatment and couldn't be trusted to follow through on doctors' recommendations.
"We're not trying to keep her from her parents. We're just trying to ensure that the treatments occur," he said. "I don't think that they would do the radiation treatments."
In his testimony Wednesday, Dr. Nejemie Alter, the first physician to see Katie after she became ill in January, said he is no longer Katie's doctor because he was upset by extensive media coverage, including allegations by Ms. Wernecke and her husband, Edward, that he didn't care about Katie.
When state lawyers asked Ms. Wernecke on Wednesday whether she would agree to chemotherapy followed by radiation, she said, "If that's what [doctors] recommend, yes."
Judge Lewis ruled last week that treatments should resume as soon as possible.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas ISD may scrap home exemption
Budget would deny raise to teachers, reduce tax rate
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - With a week to go before the Dallas school board must approve a 2005-06 budget, trustees are grappling with the prospect of eliminating taxpayers' homestead exemption and still not giving employees raises.
The board received a proposed budget on Wednesday night that ends the district's 10 percent homestead exemption and provides no salary increases. The tax rate would be cut 2 cents to slightly offset the loss of the exemption.
For a house valued at $138,816 – the average in the Dallas Independent School District – taxes would increase about $205 annually. The owner of a $200,000 home would see an increase of $304. Homeowners 65 and older would not be affected.
"I'm embarrassed that I'm not able to give at least a 1 percent raise," Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Wednesday at the board meeting. "I apologize to the staff for that."
Last week, teachers thought they would receive a salary increase of up to 2 percent if the homestead exemption were cut, as detailed in a preliminary budget.
Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance AFT teachers association, said Wednesday night that teachers feel betrayed.
She said that under the latest proposed budget, teachers would lose money because of a proposed $50 reduction in the teachers' supply stipend and the loss of the homestead exemption. She said they also would pay an average of $67 more annually to the state's teacher retirement system.
"If you do what you're talking about doing, you are cutting their salary," Ms. Bolender told trustees.
Currently, the homestead exemption is 10 percent, which means the value of a home is reduced by 10 percent before being taxed.
The district would gain $26 million by eliminating that exemption. Reducing the maintenance and operations tax rate from $1.50 to $1.478 per $100 of assessed property value would cost the district $17 million and offset the tax increase.
Dallas would follow the lead of several area districts, including Richardson and Irving, which have reduced their homestead exemptions to increase revenue.
Trustees were divided on what to do.
Trustee Nancy Bingham was concerned about doing away with the homestead exemption.
"I am very uneasy about bringing a tax increase on citizens," she said.
School board President Lois Parrott said she was "not comfortable with the pay raise or cutting the homestead exemption."
Trustee Jack Lowe suggested cutting the tax rate by 1 cent instead of 2 cents and providing employees with a 1 percent salary increase.
District administrators have made numerous reductions to balance the 2005-06 budget, which at one time had a $28 million deficit. They've had to contend with a reduction in state aid projected at $27.6 million.
Cost-saving measures include cutting 277 positions through attrition and retiring 221 employees, who were offered incentives to leave. The district also is planning to eliminate two of its eight area superintendent offices.
Trustee Hollis Brashear said he's concerned about the extra workload the remaining area superintendents would face.
"Some ... will have as many as 40 schools; that's as large as some school districts," Mr. Brashear said before the meeting.
Budget would deny raise to teachers, reduce tax rate
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - With a week to go before the Dallas school board must approve a 2005-06 budget, trustees are grappling with the prospect of eliminating taxpayers' homestead exemption and still not giving employees raises.
The board received a proposed budget on Wednesday night that ends the district's 10 percent homestead exemption and provides no salary increases. The tax rate would be cut 2 cents to slightly offset the loss of the exemption.
For a house valued at $138,816 – the average in the Dallas Independent School District – taxes would increase about $205 annually. The owner of a $200,000 home would see an increase of $304. Homeowners 65 and older would not be affected.
"I'm embarrassed that I'm not able to give at least a 1 percent raise," Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Wednesday at the board meeting. "I apologize to the staff for that."
Last week, teachers thought they would receive a salary increase of up to 2 percent if the homestead exemption were cut, as detailed in a preliminary budget.
Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance AFT teachers association, said Wednesday night that teachers feel betrayed.
She said that under the latest proposed budget, teachers would lose money because of a proposed $50 reduction in the teachers' supply stipend and the loss of the homestead exemption. She said they also would pay an average of $67 more annually to the state's teacher retirement system.
"If you do what you're talking about doing, you are cutting their salary," Ms. Bolender told trustees.
Currently, the homestead exemption is 10 percent, which means the value of a home is reduced by 10 percent before being taxed.
The district would gain $26 million by eliminating that exemption. Reducing the maintenance and operations tax rate from $1.50 to $1.478 per $100 of assessed property value would cost the district $17 million and offset the tax increase.
Dallas would follow the lead of several area districts, including Richardson and Irving, which have reduced their homestead exemptions to increase revenue.
Trustees were divided on what to do.
Trustee Nancy Bingham was concerned about doing away with the homestead exemption.
"I am very uneasy about bringing a tax increase on citizens," she said.
School board President Lois Parrott said she was "not comfortable with the pay raise or cutting the homestead exemption."
Trustee Jack Lowe suggested cutting the tax rate by 1 cent instead of 2 cents and providing employees with a 1 percent salary increase.
District administrators have made numerous reductions to balance the 2005-06 budget, which at one time had a $28 million deficit. They've had to contend with a reduction in state aid projected at $27.6 million.
Cost-saving measures include cutting 277 positions through attrition and retiring 221 employees, who were offered incentives to leave. The district also is planning to eliminate two of its eight area superintendent offices.
Trustee Hollis Brashear said he's concerned about the extra workload the remaining area superintendents would face.
"Some ... will have as many as 40 schools; that's as large as some school districts," Mr. Brashear said before the meeting.
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TexasStooge
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Sting of Water Gardens deaths still felt
Fort Worth: Family, city struggle to recover from drownings one year ago
By JEFF MOSIER and KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - The last week has been a jumble of celebration and sadness for Juanitrice Deadmon's family.
They sang Happy Birthday and ate cake Friday to observe what would have been her 12th birthday, and then they placed roses on the girl's grave.
Today another milestone arrives: the first anniversary of the drownings of Juanitrice and three family friends at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.
"We're getting along because you have to. There's no other way," said the girl's father, Fruenze Deadmon, from his suburban Chicago home. "It's starting over without a piece that was a part of you."
Myron Dukes, 39; his 8-year-old daughter, Lauren Dukes, and 13-year-old son, Christopher Dukes also drowned. The four were in Fort Worth for a Sunday school convention.
Residents of the Chicago area and Fort Worth are still struggling to recover from a tragedy they will not forget.
The Dukes family could not be reached for comment, and Fort Worth City Council members were instructed not to comment on the drownings because of litigation that was settled for $750,000 this spring.
Doug Harman, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Water Gardens is a different place than it was a year ago. He can't pass the gaping pit, drained of water, without remembering.
"When you go by a place where you know people have lost their lives," he said, "you always feel a sense of regret and sorrow."
Karin Strohbeck, a librarian at the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, said she sees the Water Gardens every day when she goes to work across the street from the Active Pool. And every time, she has a flashback to that evening, watching the hysterical crying, the people praying and paramedics unsuccessfully performing CPR on Mr. Dukes.
"The fence is such a stark reminder of what happened," she said about the barricades that were once turned into makeshift memorials. "It looks as desperate right now as it did that night."
The Active Pool with its sheer steps and waterfalls is closed to the public, although it could reopen as early as the fall after renovations are approved. Leaves and acorns are collecting on the bone-dry steps, but visitors still press against the fences for a look.
That was a year before the deaths. Ms. Dupree made a trip to Fort Worth to show her friends the Water Gardens and to imagine what the cloudy, churning pool looked like on June 16, 2004.
That evening, the Dukes family and Juanitrice had finished with the afternoon events as their convention went to the pool at their hotel near the Fort Worth Convention Center. After discovering that the pool was closed, they decided to walk to the nearby Water Gardens, an oasis in the downtown desert.
About 6:45 p.m., Lauren was walking along the bottom ledge around the Active Pool when she slipped into the water. Juanitrice grabbed her friend's hand, but she too was dragged into the water. Mr. Dukes and his teenage son jumped in to save the girls, who had been sucked underneath the surface. Within seconds, all four were struggling to stay afloat.
Bystanders called 911, and within minutes, a pair of bicycle officers arrived to help. They both jumped in and were quickly dragged toward the drain at the bottom of the pool.
One officer said he felt as if the suction would pull off his socks.
They couldn't see far into the murky water and couldn't get close to the drain to check for the victims. Fort Worth Fire Department dive team members finally recovered the bodies.
Architect Philip Johnson said that when he designed the Water Gardens, he created a sense of "pseudo danger." After 30 years of only minor injuries involving the water features, the danger was shown to be real.
Struggle to get through
Mr. Deadmon said his family has leaned on their faith and the kindness of others to get through a year thrown into chaos by a simple misstep.
Juanitrice's school created an award named for her that will be given annually to an outstanding eighth-grade graduate. And recently, a member Antioch Missionary Baptist Church asked if the church could put a photograph of Juanitrice on shirts, to be worn by members during a parade at an annual Baptist convention, held this year in North Carolina. Such reminders also bring some of the family's sadness to the surface. Mr. Deadmon said his three other children, ages 4, 11 and 14, cried last week about their sister for the first time since her death.
Mr. Deadmon said his youngest, Gemmia, turned to her mother while at Juanitrice's grave and asked: "Are we in heaven too?"
Toll on city
In Fort Worth, the costs have been both emotional and financial.
Several City Council members attended the funeral a year ago. And they have worked steadily during the last year to figure out what went wrong and how to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
Including the settlement with the families and a pair of engineering studies, the city has paid more than $1 million related to the tragedy. The City Council also gave preliminary approval to nearly $3 million to improve the safety and appearance of the park.
Mr. Harman said he doesn't believe that the drownings have affected the city's tourism business.
"One of the factors to consider whenever the tragedy occurred, there was a pretty strong commitment from the city to identify the problem and correct it," he said.
Problems identified
The city quickly hired a local engineering firm to examine the workings of the Water Gardens and its history. The report determined that the park suffered from poor maintenance, understaffing and lack of employee training.
The city then commissioned another study to determine how to fix those problems. Possible changes include raising the floor of the Active Pool and installing new pump equipment to ensure that the water level stays at 11/2 feet. A year ago, there was no working system to keep the water at a steady level, and a city investigation estimated that the pool had 8 1/2 feet of water when the Dukes and Juanitrice died.
The city's plan also includes placing low walls and rails along the top of the pool and installing a remote emergency shutoff button for the pump and an automated system to notify the city if the water level isn't correct. The report also recommends that the Water Gardens' staff be increased and its operating budget doubled.
The city has also discussed creating a memorial with the victims' names.
For Mr. Deadmon, the year has come and gone, but it doesn't feel entirely real.
"Sometimes it doesn't seem like it went by at all," he said. "It seems like you were still there."
Fort Worth: Family, city struggle to recover from drownings one year ago
By JEFF MOSIER and KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - The last week has been a jumble of celebration and sadness for Juanitrice Deadmon's family.
They sang Happy Birthday and ate cake Friday to observe what would have been her 12th birthday, and then they placed roses on the girl's grave.
Today another milestone arrives: the first anniversary of the drownings of Juanitrice and three family friends at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.
"We're getting along because you have to. There's no other way," said the girl's father, Fruenze Deadmon, from his suburban Chicago home. "It's starting over without a piece that was a part of you."
Myron Dukes, 39; his 8-year-old daughter, Lauren Dukes, and 13-year-old son, Christopher Dukes also drowned. The four were in Fort Worth for a Sunday school convention.
Residents of the Chicago area and Fort Worth are still struggling to recover from a tragedy they will not forget.
The Dukes family could not be reached for comment, and Fort Worth City Council members were instructed not to comment on the drownings because of litigation that was settled for $750,000 this spring.
Doug Harman, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Water Gardens is a different place than it was a year ago. He can't pass the gaping pit, drained of water, without remembering.
"When you go by a place where you know people have lost their lives," he said, "you always feel a sense of regret and sorrow."
Karin Strohbeck, a librarian at the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, said she sees the Water Gardens every day when she goes to work across the street from the Active Pool. And every time, she has a flashback to that evening, watching the hysterical crying, the people praying and paramedics unsuccessfully performing CPR on Mr. Dukes.
"The fence is such a stark reminder of what happened," she said about the barricades that were once turned into makeshift memorials. "It looks as desperate right now as it did that night."
The Active Pool with its sheer steps and waterfalls is closed to the public, although it could reopen as early as the fall after renovations are approved. Leaves and acorns are collecting on the bone-dry steps, but visitors still press against the fences for a look.
That was a year before the deaths. Ms. Dupree made a trip to Fort Worth to show her friends the Water Gardens and to imagine what the cloudy, churning pool looked like on June 16, 2004.
That evening, the Dukes family and Juanitrice had finished with the afternoon events as their convention went to the pool at their hotel near the Fort Worth Convention Center. After discovering that the pool was closed, they decided to walk to the nearby Water Gardens, an oasis in the downtown desert.
About 6:45 p.m., Lauren was walking along the bottom ledge around the Active Pool when she slipped into the water. Juanitrice grabbed her friend's hand, but she too was dragged into the water. Mr. Dukes and his teenage son jumped in to save the girls, who had been sucked underneath the surface. Within seconds, all four were struggling to stay afloat.
Bystanders called 911, and within minutes, a pair of bicycle officers arrived to help. They both jumped in and were quickly dragged toward the drain at the bottom of the pool.
One officer said he felt as if the suction would pull off his socks.
They couldn't see far into the murky water and couldn't get close to the drain to check for the victims. Fort Worth Fire Department dive team members finally recovered the bodies.
Architect Philip Johnson said that when he designed the Water Gardens, he created a sense of "pseudo danger." After 30 years of only minor injuries involving the water features, the danger was shown to be real.
Struggle to get through
Mr. Deadmon said his family has leaned on their faith and the kindness of others to get through a year thrown into chaos by a simple misstep.
Juanitrice's school created an award named for her that will be given annually to an outstanding eighth-grade graduate. And recently, a member Antioch Missionary Baptist Church asked if the church could put a photograph of Juanitrice on shirts, to be worn by members during a parade at an annual Baptist convention, held this year in North Carolina. Such reminders also bring some of the family's sadness to the surface. Mr. Deadmon said his three other children, ages 4, 11 and 14, cried last week about their sister for the first time since her death.
Mr. Deadmon said his youngest, Gemmia, turned to her mother while at Juanitrice's grave and asked: "Are we in heaven too?"
Toll on city
In Fort Worth, the costs have been both emotional and financial.
Several City Council members attended the funeral a year ago. And they have worked steadily during the last year to figure out what went wrong and how to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
Including the settlement with the families and a pair of engineering studies, the city has paid more than $1 million related to the tragedy. The City Council also gave preliminary approval to nearly $3 million to improve the safety and appearance of the park.
Mr. Harman said he doesn't believe that the drownings have affected the city's tourism business.
"One of the factors to consider whenever the tragedy occurred, there was a pretty strong commitment from the city to identify the problem and correct it," he said.
Problems identified
The city quickly hired a local engineering firm to examine the workings of the Water Gardens and its history. The report determined that the park suffered from poor maintenance, understaffing and lack of employee training.
The city then commissioned another study to determine how to fix those problems. Possible changes include raising the floor of the Active Pool and installing new pump equipment to ensure that the water level stays at 11/2 feet. A year ago, there was no working system to keep the water at a steady level, and a city investigation estimated that the pool had 8 1/2 feet of water when the Dukes and Juanitrice died.
The city's plan also includes placing low walls and rails along the top of the pool and installing a remote emergency shutoff button for the pump and an automated system to notify the city if the water level isn't correct. The report also recommends that the Water Gardens' staff be increased and its operating budget doubled.
The city has also discussed creating a memorial with the victims' names.
For Mr. Deadmon, the year has come and gone, but it doesn't feel entirely real.
"Sometimes it doesn't seem like it went by at all," he said. "It seems like you were still there."
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TexasStooge
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Officers cleared in rights case
Dallas: Jury says 2 off-duty lawmen didn't use excessive force
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Two off-duty Dallas lawmen did not violate a 37-year-old man's civil rights two years ago when they arrested him on a public intoxication charge, a federal civil jury decided Wednesday.
After about two hours of deliberations, the seven jurors disagreed with Derrick Grant's claim that reserve Deputy Constable Tony Hunt and Dallas police Senior Cpl. Ray Cunningham used excessive force and made a false arrest as Mr. Grant was leaving an east Oak Cliff apartment complex.
Mr. Grant had asked for $1 million in damages from Cpl. Cunningham and Mr. Hunt, the owner of a private security consulting firm, both of whom were patrolling the Village Oaks Apartments as off-duty security guards on April 5, 2003.
Both men declined to comment on the verdict as they left the courtroom Wednesday afternoon.
Despite his courtroom loss, Mr. Grant remained adamant that the two lawmen handcuffed him and then punched him before taking him to a city drunk tank.
"They both know what happened," Mr. Grant said. "I don't think justice was served. It's a big disappointment, but life goes on."
Mr. Grant's lawsuit came after a series of accusations that involved Mr. Hunt and other off-duty officers and so-called strong-arm tactics they employ on security patrols of several southern Dallas apartment complexes.
None of those claims have been substantiated by other law enforcement agencies or regulatory boards or in court.
Mr. Hunt and Cpl. Cunningham testified in Mr. Grant's trial that they never used excessive force on Mr. Grant, but only arrested him and took him to jail for being drunk.
A Dallas police internal affairs investigation of Cpl. Cunningham found Mr. Grant's excessive force accusations inconclusive, but admonished the 18-year veteran for not calling in another Dallas officer to take Mr. Grant to jail.
The two defendants' testimony differed only on exactly how they came to arrest Mr. Grant.
Mr. Hunt told the seven-member jury Tuesday that Mr. Grant showed no sign of aggression or being drunk until after he had been arrested, and began "kicking, screaming, yelling and cursing in the car." Mr. Hunt said he didn't smell alcohol on Mr. Grant until he was put inside a car.
Cpl. Cunningham told jurors that Mr. Grant drew his attention when someone shouted an obscenity at the two off-duty lawmen as they patrolled the apartment complex on Overton Boulevard.
The officer testified that Mr. Grant had an "unsteady balance to his walk," his eyes were bloodshot, and his attitude was belligerent and hostile.
Neither off-duty officer gave Mr. Grant a field sobriety test or breath or blood test that would have provided definitive proof of the alcohol level in his bloodstream. Cpl. Cunningham said department policy doesn't require that procedure for a public intoxication arrest.
Mr. Grant said he had two beers with a cousin the night of the encounter but that he was not drunk or belligerent. When he arrived for a trial on the misdemeanor public intoxication charge, neither lawman showed up, and the charge was dismissed.
Relatives who lived at Village Oaks told jurors that Mr. Grant, a private security supervisor himself with no criminal record, did nothing to provoke the two officers.
Charles Grant, a cousin with prior felony convictions for drug possession, assault and burglary in the last 20 years, said residents at the apartments underwent a curfew imposed by the private security guards – including Mr. Hunt – who patrolled the complex, or face arrest.
Mr. Hunt told jurors that he did not enforce curfews on residents of the apartment complexes his company patrolled, but that he did break up loiterers who hung out in the parking lot because of the heavy drug activity going on in the complex.
"Do you evict people for having a bad attitude?" Mr. Boyd asked Mr. Hunt.
"No," he said, "or we wouldn't have any residents at Village Oaks."
Dan Boyd, Mr. Grant's attorney, acknowledged that getting a jury to rule against the police is difficult.
"But I think Derrick Grant is a real hero for taking this as far as he did," Mr. Boyd said.
Other allegations of abuse or misconduct by Mr. Hunt and off-duty police hired by his company have arisen in recent years, though none have resulted in any convictions.
Mr. Hunt and Dallas sheriff's Investigator William Braggs were indicted on assault charges in January 2004, accused of handcuffing a tenant at an apartment complex. The charges were dismissed after the man changed his story and said the assault never happened.
A July 2003 drug bust of a Dallas man prompted an investigation after two off-duty state troopers and an off-duty deputy constable broke into the car of the suspect to retrieve a "rocklike substance."
The officers, who had been hired through Mr. Hunt's firm, were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Last summer, allegations that Mr. Hunt provided a security service without a license prompted an investigation by the Private Security Board, part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The board declined to press charges against Mr. Hunt.
Now, all that remains is a pending civil rights investigation of Mr. Hunt by the FBI.
Federal authorities declined to pass on any details involving that inquiry.
Dallas: Jury says 2 off-duty lawmen didn't use excessive force
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Two off-duty Dallas lawmen did not violate a 37-year-old man's civil rights two years ago when they arrested him on a public intoxication charge, a federal civil jury decided Wednesday.
After about two hours of deliberations, the seven jurors disagreed with Derrick Grant's claim that reserve Deputy Constable Tony Hunt and Dallas police Senior Cpl. Ray Cunningham used excessive force and made a false arrest as Mr. Grant was leaving an east Oak Cliff apartment complex.
Mr. Grant had asked for $1 million in damages from Cpl. Cunningham and Mr. Hunt, the owner of a private security consulting firm, both of whom were patrolling the Village Oaks Apartments as off-duty security guards on April 5, 2003.
Both men declined to comment on the verdict as they left the courtroom Wednesday afternoon.
Despite his courtroom loss, Mr. Grant remained adamant that the two lawmen handcuffed him and then punched him before taking him to a city drunk tank.
"They both know what happened," Mr. Grant said. "I don't think justice was served. It's a big disappointment, but life goes on."
Mr. Grant's lawsuit came after a series of accusations that involved Mr. Hunt and other off-duty officers and so-called strong-arm tactics they employ on security patrols of several southern Dallas apartment complexes.
None of those claims have been substantiated by other law enforcement agencies or regulatory boards or in court.
Mr. Hunt and Cpl. Cunningham testified in Mr. Grant's trial that they never used excessive force on Mr. Grant, but only arrested him and took him to jail for being drunk.
A Dallas police internal affairs investigation of Cpl. Cunningham found Mr. Grant's excessive force accusations inconclusive, but admonished the 18-year veteran for not calling in another Dallas officer to take Mr. Grant to jail.
The two defendants' testimony differed only on exactly how they came to arrest Mr. Grant.
Mr. Hunt told the seven-member jury Tuesday that Mr. Grant showed no sign of aggression or being drunk until after he had been arrested, and began "kicking, screaming, yelling and cursing in the car." Mr. Hunt said he didn't smell alcohol on Mr. Grant until he was put inside a car.
Cpl. Cunningham told jurors that Mr. Grant drew his attention when someone shouted an obscenity at the two off-duty lawmen as they patrolled the apartment complex on Overton Boulevard.
The officer testified that Mr. Grant had an "unsteady balance to his walk," his eyes were bloodshot, and his attitude was belligerent and hostile.
Neither off-duty officer gave Mr. Grant a field sobriety test or breath or blood test that would have provided definitive proof of the alcohol level in his bloodstream. Cpl. Cunningham said department policy doesn't require that procedure for a public intoxication arrest.
Mr. Grant said he had two beers with a cousin the night of the encounter but that he was not drunk or belligerent. When he arrived for a trial on the misdemeanor public intoxication charge, neither lawman showed up, and the charge was dismissed.
Relatives who lived at Village Oaks told jurors that Mr. Grant, a private security supervisor himself with no criminal record, did nothing to provoke the two officers.
Charles Grant, a cousin with prior felony convictions for drug possession, assault and burglary in the last 20 years, said residents at the apartments underwent a curfew imposed by the private security guards – including Mr. Hunt – who patrolled the complex, or face arrest.
Mr. Hunt told jurors that he did not enforce curfews on residents of the apartment complexes his company patrolled, but that he did break up loiterers who hung out in the parking lot because of the heavy drug activity going on in the complex.
"Do you evict people for having a bad attitude?" Mr. Boyd asked Mr. Hunt.
"No," he said, "or we wouldn't have any residents at Village Oaks."
Dan Boyd, Mr. Grant's attorney, acknowledged that getting a jury to rule against the police is difficult.
"But I think Derrick Grant is a real hero for taking this as far as he did," Mr. Boyd said.
Other allegations of abuse or misconduct by Mr. Hunt and off-duty police hired by his company have arisen in recent years, though none have resulted in any convictions.
Mr. Hunt and Dallas sheriff's Investigator William Braggs were indicted on assault charges in January 2004, accused of handcuffing a tenant at an apartment complex. The charges were dismissed after the man changed his story and said the assault never happened.
A July 2003 drug bust of a Dallas man prompted an investigation after two off-duty state troopers and an off-duty deputy constable broke into the car of the suspect to retrieve a "rocklike substance."
The officers, who had been hired through Mr. Hunt's firm, were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Last summer, allegations that Mr. Hunt provided a security service without a license prompted an investigation by the Private Security Board, part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The board declined to press charges against Mr. Hunt.
Now, all that remains is a pending civil rights investigation of Mr. Hunt by the FBI.
Federal authorities declined to pass on any details involving that inquiry.
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TexasStooge
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Keller district frowns on pizza prank
Cheerleaders tried to blame rivals, board member says
By DAKARAI I. AARONS / The Dallas Morning News
KELLER, Texas - A group of Keller High School cheerleaders put human feces on a pizza sent to them by the rival Fossil Ridge High School squad, then claimed Fossil Ridge cheerleaders did it, a school district official said.
The incident occurred June 2 during the last evening of a four-day camp at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Randy Pugh, a board member for the Keller Independent School District, said the incident was a "single incident of children who used very poor judgment."
"I don't believe in any way it's reflective of the majority of the children in this district," Mr. Pugh said. "I believe the district has taken the appropriate actions after they investigated it."
Jason Meyer, spokesman for the Keller Independent School district, said that federal law prevents him from speaking specifically about actions taken against students but that such an incident would be a violation of the student and extracurricular codes of conduct.
"These kinds of issues are taken very seriously by Keller," he said. "We try to make sure students know what's in the student code of conduct so it's not a surprise."
Sanctions could include sending students to the district's alternative high school program, Mr. Meyer said, but the level of action taken against students would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Cheerleaders tried to blame rivals, board member says
By DAKARAI I. AARONS / The Dallas Morning News
KELLER, Texas - A group of Keller High School cheerleaders put human feces on a pizza sent to them by the rival Fossil Ridge High School squad, then claimed Fossil Ridge cheerleaders did it, a school district official said.
The incident occurred June 2 during the last evening of a four-day camp at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Randy Pugh, a board member for the Keller Independent School District, said the incident was a "single incident of children who used very poor judgment."
"I don't believe in any way it's reflective of the majority of the children in this district," Mr. Pugh said. "I believe the district has taken the appropriate actions after they investigated it."
Jason Meyer, spokesman for the Keller Independent School district, said that federal law prevents him from speaking specifically about actions taken against students but that such an incident would be a violation of the student and extracurricular codes of conduct.
"These kinds of issues are taken very seriously by Keller," he said. "We try to make sure students know what's in the student code of conduct so it's not a surprise."
Sanctions could include sending students to the district's alternative high school program, Mr. Meyer said, but the level of action taken against students would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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'One Tough Grandma' for governor?
'Strayhorn to reveal plan Saturday; race vs. Perry probable, insider says
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn will announce her political plans Saturday in Austin, fueling expectations that she could challenge fellow Republican Rick Perry.
Supporters have been promised a "major announcement" at an outdoor event Saturday afternoon just north of the Capitol featuring music, hot dogs and soft drinks.
Mrs. Strayhorn's "One Tough Grandma" nickname has helped make her one of the most popular politicians in Texas, and one veteran Republican operative said he expected her to announce a bid for governor. But others with close ties to the GOP said she could use the festive event Saturday to declare her candidacy for lieutenant governor.
A spokesman for Mrs. Strayhorn did not return calls seeking comment.
Political scientist Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University said an announcement that she would seek higher office would "get her out early and let her work to develop commitments among potential contributors and people who might make an endorsement."
But if she decides to challenge the governor, he said, it would "throw dust in the gears" of next year's GOP primary and probably make her "an also-ran" in a race that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison could enter as well.
Mr. Perry and Ms. Hutchison have bigger campaign treasuries and are considered more popular with dedicated Republicans who tend to vote in primaries.
As comptroller, Mrs. Strayhorn has cast herself as watchdog of state spending. She has been particularly critical of Mr. Perry's handling of the budget, the failure to overhaul school funding and his creation of a highway program that envisions toll roads.
At a rally on the Capitol grounds during the just-completed legislative session, Mrs. Strayhorn denounced "Perry and his hand-picked highway henchmen" over his advocacy of toll roads to speed highway construction.
Her running feud with Mr. Perry and GOP legislative leaders has cost her some support among GOP voters, analysts say. But her feisty political persona could prove popular among many voters.
Ms. Hutchison said in an interview that Mrs. Strayhorn's planned announcement "is not going to make a difference in my decision, nor my timetable."
"I am in the last stages of making a decision. There's no doubt about that. I need to make the decision, and I will do that in the next few weeks," Ms. Hutchison said, but "not before Saturday."
Mr. Perry's campaign manager, Luis Saenz, dismissed speculation about Mrs. Strayhorn's political future.
"We're just focused on the governor and getting him elected," he said.
Two of Mrs. Strayhorn's four sons, White House spokesman Scott McClellan and federal Medicare and Medicaid administrator Mark McClellan, declined to comment Wednesday about their mother's plans.
Mrs. Strayhorn, a former Democrat, has served as mayor of Austin and as Texas railroad commissioner. She was elected comptroller in 1998.
Staff writers Todd J. Gillman and G. Robert Hillman in Washington contributed to this report.
'Strayhorn to reveal plan Saturday; race vs. Perry probable, insider says
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn will announce her political plans Saturday in Austin, fueling expectations that she could challenge fellow Republican Rick Perry.
Supporters have been promised a "major announcement" at an outdoor event Saturday afternoon just north of the Capitol featuring music, hot dogs and soft drinks.
Mrs. Strayhorn's "One Tough Grandma" nickname has helped make her one of the most popular politicians in Texas, and one veteran Republican operative said he expected her to announce a bid for governor. But others with close ties to the GOP said she could use the festive event Saturday to declare her candidacy for lieutenant governor.
A spokesman for Mrs. Strayhorn did not return calls seeking comment.
Political scientist Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University said an announcement that she would seek higher office would "get her out early and let her work to develop commitments among potential contributors and people who might make an endorsement."
But if she decides to challenge the governor, he said, it would "throw dust in the gears" of next year's GOP primary and probably make her "an also-ran" in a race that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison could enter as well.
Mr. Perry and Ms. Hutchison have bigger campaign treasuries and are considered more popular with dedicated Republicans who tend to vote in primaries.
As comptroller, Mrs. Strayhorn has cast herself as watchdog of state spending. She has been particularly critical of Mr. Perry's handling of the budget, the failure to overhaul school funding and his creation of a highway program that envisions toll roads.
At a rally on the Capitol grounds during the just-completed legislative session, Mrs. Strayhorn denounced "Perry and his hand-picked highway henchmen" over his advocacy of toll roads to speed highway construction.
Her running feud with Mr. Perry and GOP legislative leaders has cost her some support among GOP voters, analysts say. But her feisty political persona could prove popular among many voters.
Ms. Hutchison said in an interview that Mrs. Strayhorn's planned announcement "is not going to make a difference in my decision, nor my timetable."
"I am in the last stages of making a decision. There's no doubt about that. I need to make the decision, and I will do that in the next few weeks," Ms. Hutchison said, but "not before Saturday."
Mr. Perry's campaign manager, Luis Saenz, dismissed speculation about Mrs. Strayhorn's political future.
"We're just focused on the governor and getting him elected," he said.
Two of Mrs. Strayhorn's four sons, White House spokesman Scott McClellan and federal Medicare and Medicaid administrator Mark McClellan, declined to comment Wednesday about their mother's plans.
Mrs. Strayhorn, a former Democrat, has served as mayor of Austin and as Texas railroad commissioner. She was elected comptroller in 1998.
Staff writers Todd J. Gillman and G. Robert Hillman in Washington contributed to this report.
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