Wild cat startles Plano mountain biker
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
PLANO, Texas — John Lynch was riding his mountain bike when he was startled by the appearance of a wild cat on an Arbor Hills trail.
"I saw an animal and I thought it was a dog just about 20 yards in front of me," he said.
When Lynch rode closer, he realized it wasn't a dog, but a large wild cat. At first glance, Lynch assumed the large tan animal—which came up to his knee—was a mountain lion.
Cliff Moore, the city of Plano's wildlife expert, examined the scene and came to a different conclusion.
"I don't see a mountain lion being here," Moore said. "Not this day and time. Twenty years ago, yes."
After exploring the area where the animal was seen, Moore concluded that it was a bobcat.
"Bobcats are indigenous to this area," he said. "They have been in this park from the beginning."
Bobcats have been seen in and around Arbor Hills. Recently, a park patron shot a close-up photo of a bobcat and her two kittens.
News from the Lone Star State
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Senior linebacker charged with assault
By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8
GRANBURY, Texas - It happened at the end of a seven on seven game of touch football that required no pads or tackling.
However, there was contact that sent one player to the hospital and another to jail.
The game was part of a summer league organized by parents, and turned sour after one team member slapped an opponent.
Eddie Donaghey, a senior linebacker for the Granbury Pirates and a longtime fan favorite, is an A and B student and dedicated to sports.
Donaghey had also never been jailed before he was charged with assault by the district attorney after the touch football game.
While teams were shaking hands after the tournament in Watauga, Donaghey hit a freshman opponent who angered him during the match. Someone called the police who found the victim had discoloration under his left eye, blurred vision and noticed his speech to be slurred.
"Well, I feel what I did was wrong," Donaghey said. "I do know what I did was wrong."
Donaghey was handcuffed on the field and locked in jail overnight.
By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8
GRANBURY, Texas - It happened at the end of a seven on seven game of touch football that required no pads or tackling.
However, there was contact that sent one player to the hospital and another to jail.
The game was part of a summer league organized by parents, and turned sour after one team member slapped an opponent.
Eddie Donaghey, a senior linebacker for the Granbury Pirates and a longtime fan favorite, is an A and B student and dedicated to sports.
Donaghey had also never been jailed before he was charged with assault by the district attorney after the touch football game.
While teams were shaking hands after the tournament in Watauga, Donaghey hit a freshman opponent who angered him during the match. Someone called the police who found the victim had discoloration under his left eye, blurred vision and noticed his speech to be slurred.
"Well, I feel what I did was wrong," Donaghey said. "I do know what I did was wrong."
Donaghey was handcuffed on the field and locked in jail overnight.
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More jail for daycare crash driver
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The teenager behind the wheel of a car that crashed into a Dallas daycare center is getting no breaks from the legal system.
At a hearing in juvenile court on Thursday, a judge decided to keep the 14-year-old locked up for at least 10 more days.
The move has prompted complaints about fairness from the girl's mother, Jeanetta Bass, and others. Bass was clearly disappointed after the judge ruled that her daughter must remain in custody while she awaits trial.
"It's a shame, because it was just an accident," Bass said. "Bless those that are severely hurt."
At a rally for her daughter on Tuesday, Bass wouldn't talk about the accident, only about the pain she blames on the fact that he law doesn't allow juveniles to post bail.
"I know what kind of child she is," Bass said. "For her to be locked up in the system, it's unreal."
It is hard to know why the judge is keeping the teen in custody, because by law juvenile records are not public. The girl's supporters contrast her case with 18-year-old Austin Ames, who was able to post bond since he was tried as an adult
"It's a matter of fairness, when a Caucasian can run over and kill a six-year-old girl in Highland Park and receive two years' probation," said Rev. Ronald Wright of Praise Him Ministries. "It's just about being just."
Attorney Raul Loya's main concern is his client. Rosemary Solis, 10, spent nearly two weeks in the Parkland Hospital burn unit.
"I think its completely fair," Loya said of the judge's decision. "(Rosemary) was trapped under the vehicle; she will bear these scars the rest of her life."
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The teenager behind the wheel of a car that crashed into a Dallas daycare center is getting no breaks from the legal system.
At a hearing in juvenile court on Thursday, a judge decided to keep the 14-year-old locked up for at least 10 more days.
The move has prompted complaints about fairness from the girl's mother, Jeanetta Bass, and others. Bass was clearly disappointed after the judge ruled that her daughter must remain in custody while she awaits trial.
"It's a shame, because it was just an accident," Bass said. "Bless those that are severely hurt."
At a rally for her daughter on Tuesday, Bass wouldn't talk about the accident, only about the pain she blames on the fact that he law doesn't allow juveniles to post bail.
"I know what kind of child she is," Bass said. "For her to be locked up in the system, it's unreal."
It is hard to know why the judge is keeping the teen in custody, because by law juvenile records are not public. The girl's supporters contrast her case with 18-year-old Austin Ames, who was able to post bond since he was tried as an adult
"It's a matter of fairness, when a Caucasian can run over and kill a six-year-old girl in Highland Park and receive two years' probation," said Rev. Ronald Wright of Praise Him Ministries. "It's just about being just."
Attorney Raul Loya's main concern is his client. Rosemary Solis, 10, spent nearly two weeks in the Parkland Hospital burn unit.
"I think its completely fair," Loya said of the judge's decision. "(Rosemary) was trapped under the vehicle; she will bear these scars the rest of her life."
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Widow's flag will fly again
Mesquite: Stolen Marine banner is returned anonymously
By KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News
MESQUITE, Texas - As soon as Mesquite police called with word that a Marine flag had been found, Julie Shumney knew it was hers.
"I just always felt like somehow my husband was going to get it back to me," she said.
Marine 1st Lt. Dustin Shumney sent the flag to his wife last year from Fallujah, Iraq.
After her husband died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, Mrs. Shumney flew it in front of her house. It was stolen May 15.
Mrs. Shumney said she wouldn't prosecute; she just wanted the flag back.
A Mesquite police spokeswoman wouldn't say who tipped the department to the flag's whereabouts or who had the banner.
"We don't believe that the person who turned it in to us was involved with the theft," Sgt. Shannon Greenhaw said.
Two people have promised Mrs. Shumney replacement flags, one of which was to be flown over Fallujah before being sent.
"I was blown away with the extent that they were willing to go to, to make it as authentic as possible," said Mrs. Shumney, who plans to give those flags to her husband's mother and grandmother in California.
The Mesquite police gave her a third replacement flag.
The original flag, meanwhile, will be protected. The flagpole will be screwed to the brick house, Mrs. Shumney said, and a camera will be mounted nearby.
"I don't think it's going to get stolen again," she said.
Mesquite: Stolen Marine banner is returned anonymously
By KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News
MESQUITE, Texas - As soon as Mesquite police called with word that a Marine flag had been found, Julie Shumney knew it was hers.
"I just always felt like somehow my husband was going to get it back to me," she said.
Marine 1st Lt. Dustin Shumney sent the flag to his wife last year from Fallujah, Iraq.
After her husband died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, Mrs. Shumney flew it in front of her house. It was stolen May 15.
Mrs. Shumney said she wouldn't prosecute; she just wanted the flag back.
A Mesquite police spokeswoman wouldn't say who tipped the department to the flag's whereabouts or who had the banner.
"We don't believe that the person who turned it in to us was involved with the theft," Sgt. Shannon Greenhaw said.
Two people have promised Mrs. Shumney replacement flags, one of which was to be flown over Fallujah before being sent.
"I was blown away with the extent that they were willing to go to, to make it as authentic as possible," said Mrs. Shumney, who plans to give those flags to her husband's mother and grandmother in California.
The Mesquite police gave her a third replacement flag.
The original flag, meanwhile, will be protected. The flagpole will be screwed to the brick house, Mrs. Shumney said, and a camera will be mounted nearby.
"I don't think it's going to get stolen again," she said.
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Ranch ropes in refreshments, music for grand reopening
Northlake: New facilities planned for land after fire last fall
By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News
NORTHLAKE, Texas – Five-year-old Annabeth Deck arrived at Coyote Texas last week ready for her first horseback ride.
But not any horse would do.
"I want to see a pink pony. That's my favorite color," said Annabeth, a Louisiana resident who was visiting with her aunt, Donna Kallbreier of Irving.
There were no pink horses in the barn, but Annabeth was happy with the black one brought out by ranch hand Cory Pace.
Coyote Texas officials hope to make more people happy with the dude ranch's grand reopening this weekend. The Second Annual Hard Core Texas Music Festival, Wine Swap and Chili Cook-off is the kickoff celebration for the 192-acre spread formerly called Texas Lil's Dude Ranch.
DKM Property Co. Ltd., a real estate partnership, bought the ranch in October from a foreclosure proceeding after former owner Lynda "Texas Lil" Arnold defaulted on a $2 million loan. Less than a month later, fires destroyed the ranch office, a large ballroom and a restaurant.
"Finally, that mess is cleaned off," spokeswoman Sally Moore said last week as she walked the concrete slab where the 28,000-square-foot ballroom once stood.
The slab will be used for parking this weekend, but eventually will become the stage for an amphitheater. Other planned changes include building a pavilion, adding restaurants and installing recreational vehicle hookups.
The Drifter Hotel, which once housed employees, will be turned into five luxury suites.
"There's never been lodging here, so that'll be a first," Ms. Moore said.
The ranch reopened in January on a limited basis, offering day packages for private parties and horseback riding to the public. The packages typically offer full use of the facilities, including swimming, fishing, hayrides, horseback rides and a cookout, and cost about $45 per adult and $35 for children.
"We have gunslingers we can bring in, so the price just depends on what they want," Ms. Moore said. "They can also bring in their own food and save a little money that way."
Northlake Mayor Michael Savoie is glad to see the facility reopening. The ranch has been a fixture in the community just north of Alliance Airport for many years.
"Clearly the fire has changed their plans somewhat, and the facilities are different because they lost three buildings," he said. "But from a tradition standpoint with the facility being here so long, we're happy the new owners have been able to get together, reopen and hopefully put the past behind them."
Mr. Savoie said the property is still operating under previous nonconforming use, so adding restaurants and lodging will require City Council approval. But town officials are eager to do what they can to help make Coyote Texas a success, he said.
"I'd like it to become something we can hold up as a bellwether for the type of development we'd like to see in our town," Mr. Savoie said.
Ms. Moore said a motorcycle rally is scheduled for July 15-17. The North Texas Rock Rally will feature 65 musicians including Ted Nugent and David Allan Coe.
Billy Gene Howard, a longtime employee of Texas Lil's Dude Ranch, was arrested the night of the fires and charged with arson. Those charges were later dropped in exchange for his pleading guilty to a federal weapons charge.
Mr. Howard is still in custody awaiting sentencing, said his attorney, Clint Broden.
In February, a Denton County grand jury declined to indict the ranch's former owner, Ms. Arnold, on felony charges of evidence tampering related to the fire that destroyed the ranch.
Northlake: New facilities planned for land after fire last fall
By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News
NORTHLAKE, Texas – Five-year-old Annabeth Deck arrived at Coyote Texas last week ready for her first horseback ride.
But not any horse would do.
"I want to see a pink pony. That's my favorite color," said Annabeth, a Louisiana resident who was visiting with her aunt, Donna Kallbreier of Irving.
There were no pink horses in the barn, but Annabeth was happy with the black one brought out by ranch hand Cory Pace.
Coyote Texas officials hope to make more people happy with the dude ranch's grand reopening this weekend. The Second Annual Hard Core Texas Music Festival, Wine Swap and Chili Cook-off is the kickoff celebration for the 192-acre spread formerly called Texas Lil's Dude Ranch.
DKM Property Co. Ltd., a real estate partnership, bought the ranch in October from a foreclosure proceeding after former owner Lynda "Texas Lil" Arnold defaulted on a $2 million loan. Less than a month later, fires destroyed the ranch office, a large ballroom and a restaurant.
"Finally, that mess is cleaned off," spokeswoman Sally Moore said last week as she walked the concrete slab where the 28,000-square-foot ballroom once stood.
The slab will be used for parking this weekend, but eventually will become the stage for an amphitheater. Other planned changes include building a pavilion, adding restaurants and installing recreational vehicle hookups.
The Drifter Hotel, which once housed employees, will be turned into five luxury suites.
"There's never been lodging here, so that'll be a first," Ms. Moore said.
The ranch reopened in January on a limited basis, offering day packages for private parties and horseback riding to the public. The packages typically offer full use of the facilities, including swimming, fishing, hayrides, horseback rides and a cookout, and cost about $45 per adult and $35 for children.
"We have gunslingers we can bring in, so the price just depends on what they want," Ms. Moore said. "They can also bring in their own food and save a little money that way."
Northlake Mayor Michael Savoie is glad to see the facility reopening. The ranch has been a fixture in the community just north of Alliance Airport for many years.
"Clearly the fire has changed their plans somewhat, and the facilities are different because they lost three buildings," he said. "But from a tradition standpoint with the facility being here so long, we're happy the new owners have been able to get together, reopen and hopefully put the past behind them."
Mr. Savoie said the property is still operating under previous nonconforming use, so adding restaurants and lodging will require City Council approval. But town officials are eager to do what they can to help make Coyote Texas a success, he said.
"I'd like it to become something we can hold up as a bellwether for the type of development we'd like to see in our town," Mr. Savoie said.
Ms. Moore said a motorcycle rally is scheduled for July 15-17. The North Texas Rock Rally will feature 65 musicians including Ted Nugent and David Allan Coe.
Billy Gene Howard, a longtime employee of Texas Lil's Dude Ranch, was arrested the night of the fires and charged with arson. Those charges were later dropped in exchange for his pleading guilty to a federal weapons charge.
Mr. Howard is still in custody awaiting sentencing, said his attorney, Clint Broden.
In February, a Denton County grand jury declined to indict the ranch's former owner, Ms. Arnold, on felony charges of evidence tampering related to the fire that destroyed the ranch.
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Man's heroism helps him find cancer
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Lonnell Henderson cherishes time with his family and grandson now more than ever.
Last month, a car slammed into a day care center and Henderson lifted the car to save two children. Doctors believe that act of heroism triggered a brain aneurysm.
Now Henderson faces another battle for his life.
As he recovered at the hospital from surgery doctors made a grim discovery. He had lung cancer.
"This Father's Day [I'm] just blessed to be here," Henderson said. "I'm praying every night that I have another Father's Day."
Once again, he said his faith has been his force.
"He gave me strength to help move that car and I asked Him for strength to help get me through day-by-day," he said. "I asked Him to help cure me."
His family said they pray the accident and aneurysm happened to help catch the cancer in its early stages.
"Miracles are still happening everyday," said Virginia, Henderson's wife.
Since the accident at the day care center, Lonnell has not been able to work - which has caused a huge financial strain at the beauty academy the Hendersons own and operate.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Lonnell Henderson cherishes time with his family and grandson now more than ever.
Last month, a car slammed into a day care center and Henderson lifted the car to save two children. Doctors believe that act of heroism triggered a brain aneurysm.
Now Henderson faces another battle for his life.
As he recovered at the hospital from surgery doctors made a grim discovery. He had lung cancer.
"This Father's Day [I'm] just blessed to be here," Henderson said. "I'm praying every night that I have another Father's Day."
Once again, he said his faith has been his force.
"He gave me strength to help move that car and I asked Him for strength to help get me through day-by-day," he said. "I asked Him to help cure me."
His family said they pray the accident and aneurysm happened to help catch the cancer in its early stages.
"Miracles are still happening everyday," said Virginia, Henderson's wife.
Since the accident at the day care center, Lonnell has not been able to work - which has caused a huge financial strain at the beauty academy the Hendersons own and operate.
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Mom on trial for dumping baby in trash
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Testimony was scheduled to begin Monday at the trial of a Hurst mother who is accused of dumping her newborn baby in a trash bin.
Dana Wilson, 25, is charged with attempted capital murder.
Police said Wilson gave birth in her home in November, 2003.
Two people discovered her baby later that morning in a plastic bag, but still alive.
The child, now 18 months old, is mentally handicapped due to oxygen deprivation.
Defense attorneys indicated they will offer an insanity defense.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Testimony was scheduled to begin Monday at the trial of a Hurst mother who is accused of dumping her newborn baby in a trash bin.
Dana Wilson, 25, is charged with attempted capital murder.
Police said Wilson gave birth in her home in November, 2003.
Two people discovered her baby later that morning in a plastic bag, but still alive.
The child, now 18 months old, is mentally handicapped due to oxygen deprivation.
Defense attorneys indicated they will offer an insanity defense.
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Dallas police make arrest in shooting
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - She was a beautiful young mother out celebrating her cousin's 20th birthday.
He was a persistent admirer who apparently couldn't take no for an answer, her relatives said.
Christina Marie Rodriguez, 19, was shot to death early Saturday morning as she left a northwest Dallas club by a man who wanted her love, her mother said.
Police Homicide detectives worked diligently to identify the suspect and arrested Genaro Trevino Sunday.
Meanwhile, Christina's family spent Saturday grieving and remembering.
"Christina was just a wonderful young lady; I was so proud of her," Mary Rodriguez, Christina's mother, said Saturday.
Christina had struggled to finish high school after the birth of her daughter, Delilah, now 3 years old. But she graduated with honors last year and had recently decided to become a nurse like her mother.
Rodriguez said she never met the man she believes killed her daughter. But her other children said he had long been pursuing Christina, though she was still dating Delilah's father.
The would-be suitor sometimes showed up at her job at a Dallas Chevrolet dealership. On Friday night, he tried to buy drinks for her friends at the birthday party at Kaoba dance club in the 10000 block of Denton Drive.
When he tried to kiss and hug her, they argued, and Christina left the club about 1:30 a.m. with her cousin, Angela Rodriguez, and some friends, Rodriguez said.
They didn't get far before Christina, who was driving, noticed that the man was pursuing them. She reached for her cellphone to call 911 as a pickup with two men inside pulled beside them, police reports show.
Her cousin and three others in the car saw Christina slump forward after she was shot in the head.
"It's so awful," Rodriguez said. "She was never afraid of anyone. I always told her, mija, you need to be careful. There are people out there who have no fear of God."
Dallas police homicide Sgt. Kenneth Lecesne said Saturday that "it was amazing that no one else got hurt," and he cautioned about the dangers of arguments at clubs, especially when alcohol is involved.
"It's best to just keep going," he said. "You never know who you're fooling with."
The shooting was the latest in a string of violent club and bar encounters reported in Dallas in recent months:
•A man and a woman, ages 38 and 34, were robbed and shot to death May 21 outside of the Neon Cowboy Club in the 10400 block of C.F. Hawn Freeway in southeast Dallas.
•A 25-year-old man was fatally shot May 13 at a Love Field-area gas station after leaving Club DMX at 10733 Spangler Road in northwest Dallas.
•Eight people were shot April 11, none of them critically, in front of Club 9009 on Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove. Police said gang violence may have been involved.
•Three people were shot to death and another wounded March 15 at Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane following an argument at Jack's Pub on Yale Boulevard.
•Two men were shot to death, including one innocent 18-year-old bystander, after a bar brawl March 17 at the Dolphin Lounge in the 1400 block of North Industrial Boulevard in West Dallas.
•Police arrested a man in January in connection with the November shooting death of a 24-year-old man in the parking lot of Club DMX in northwest Dallas.
Christina's mother is enduring the pain that only a parent who lives through the loss of a child can know.
Mrs. Rodriguez said she was screaming in grief Saturday morning, but her pastor, neighbors and relatives came to pray with her at her Dallas home.
"I really feel the strength of God now," she said Saturday afternoon, speaking in a steady voice. "I know it's not easy, but God is going to sustain me."
Mrs. Rodriguez said she would care now for Delilah.
In addition to her mother and daughter, Christina is survived by her father, Oscar Rodriguez; sisters, Priscilla, Stephanie and Romona Rodriguez; brother Oscar Rodriguez, Jr., and Delilah's father, Daniel Ortiz.
Memorial arrangements are pending and will be handled by Templo Poder y Gozo church on Davis Street, she said.
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - She was a beautiful young mother out celebrating her cousin's 20th birthday.
He was a persistent admirer who apparently couldn't take no for an answer, her relatives said.
Christina Marie Rodriguez, 19, was shot to death early Saturday morning as she left a northwest Dallas club by a man who wanted her love, her mother said.
Police Homicide detectives worked diligently to identify the suspect and arrested Genaro Trevino Sunday.
Meanwhile, Christina's family spent Saturday grieving and remembering.
"Christina was just a wonderful young lady; I was so proud of her," Mary Rodriguez, Christina's mother, said Saturday.
Christina had struggled to finish high school after the birth of her daughter, Delilah, now 3 years old. But she graduated with honors last year and had recently decided to become a nurse like her mother.
Rodriguez said she never met the man she believes killed her daughter. But her other children said he had long been pursuing Christina, though she was still dating Delilah's father.
The would-be suitor sometimes showed up at her job at a Dallas Chevrolet dealership. On Friday night, he tried to buy drinks for her friends at the birthday party at Kaoba dance club in the 10000 block of Denton Drive.
When he tried to kiss and hug her, they argued, and Christina left the club about 1:30 a.m. with her cousin, Angela Rodriguez, and some friends, Rodriguez said.
They didn't get far before Christina, who was driving, noticed that the man was pursuing them. She reached for her cellphone to call 911 as a pickup with two men inside pulled beside them, police reports show.
Her cousin and three others in the car saw Christina slump forward after she was shot in the head.
"It's so awful," Rodriguez said. "She was never afraid of anyone. I always told her, mija, you need to be careful. There are people out there who have no fear of God."
Dallas police homicide Sgt. Kenneth Lecesne said Saturday that "it was amazing that no one else got hurt," and he cautioned about the dangers of arguments at clubs, especially when alcohol is involved.
"It's best to just keep going," he said. "You never know who you're fooling with."
The shooting was the latest in a string of violent club and bar encounters reported in Dallas in recent months:
•A man and a woman, ages 38 and 34, were robbed and shot to death May 21 outside of the Neon Cowboy Club in the 10400 block of C.F. Hawn Freeway in southeast Dallas.
•A 25-year-old man was fatally shot May 13 at a Love Field-area gas station after leaving Club DMX at 10733 Spangler Road in northwest Dallas.
•Eight people were shot April 11, none of them critically, in front of Club 9009 on Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove. Police said gang violence may have been involved.
•Three people were shot to death and another wounded March 15 at Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane following an argument at Jack's Pub on Yale Boulevard.
•Two men were shot to death, including one innocent 18-year-old bystander, after a bar brawl March 17 at the Dolphin Lounge in the 1400 block of North Industrial Boulevard in West Dallas.
•Police arrested a man in January in connection with the November shooting death of a 24-year-old man in the parking lot of Club DMX in northwest Dallas.
Christina's mother is enduring the pain that only a parent who lives through the loss of a child can know.
Mrs. Rodriguez said she was screaming in grief Saturday morning, but her pastor, neighbors and relatives came to pray with her at her Dallas home.
"I really feel the strength of God now," she said Saturday afternoon, speaking in a steady voice. "I know it's not easy, but God is going to sustain me."
Mrs. Rodriguez said she would care now for Delilah.
In addition to her mother and daughter, Christina is survived by her father, Oscar Rodriguez; sisters, Priscilla, Stephanie and Romona Rodriguez; brother Oscar Rodriguez, Jr., and Delilah's father, Daniel Ortiz.
Memorial arrangements are pending and will be handled by Templo Poder y Gozo church on Davis Street, she said.
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Rep. fights to end South Dallas flooding
By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and Rep. Jim Duncan of Tennessee got the big picture of South Dallas and the Trinity River during a helicopter ride on Sunday. The river could flood again, as it has historically, and with devastating results.
Rep. Johnson invited Duncan, chairman of the Water Resources Subcommittee, to Dallas to convince him $194 million in federal and non-federal funds should be spent to elevate and extend levees to protect the people of South Dallas.
Dallas has attempted to tackle the flooding issue for more than 30 years, Johnson said. She believes the problem—which worsens every year—will only accelerate until the Trinity is dealt with.
Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm said if levees are not improved, a catastrophic flood—like the ones Houston and Central Texas experienced within the past five years—could turn Dallas City Hall into beachfront property.
"Entire communities south of our central business district are flooded and it hinders economic development—not to mention challenge to lives and damage to property." Suhm said.
The Dallas congressional delegation continues to work to raise the money, even though President Bush has never put the floodway project in his budget.
"Maybe you Texans should work on him a little bit harder," Rep. Duncan said. "But there are a lot of things that don't end up in the president's budgets that are good projects we end up spending money on."
The chairman seems to agree the Trinity River Project is a priority, not pork.
By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and Rep. Jim Duncan of Tennessee got the big picture of South Dallas and the Trinity River during a helicopter ride on Sunday. The river could flood again, as it has historically, and with devastating results.
Rep. Johnson invited Duncan, chairman of the Water Resources Subcommittee, to Dallas to convince him $194 million in federal and non-federal funds should be spent to elevate and extend levees to protect the people of South Dallas.
Dallas has attempted to tackle the flooding issue for more than 30 years, Johnson said. She believes the problem—which worsens every year—will only accelerate until the Trinity is dealt with.
Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm said if levees are not improved, a catastrophic flood—like the ones Houston and Central Texas experienced within the past five years—could turn Dallas City Hall into beachfront property.
"Entire communities south of our central business district are flooded and it hinders economic development—not to mention challenge to lives and damage to property." Suhm said.
The Dallas congressional delegation continues to work to raise the money, even though President Bush has never put the floodway project in his budget.
"Maybe you Texans should work on him a little bit harder," Rep. Duncan said. "But there are a lot of things that don't end up in the president's budgets that are good projects we end up spending money on."
The chairman seems to agree the Trinity River Project is a priority, not pork.
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Street racing wreck kills 1, injures 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — A 19-year-old man died and four others were hurt early Sunday when an illegal street race ended in a wreck.
Police said two pickup trucks were racing on Turner Warnell Road west of Highway 287 near Mansfield around 1:30 a.m. when they collided several times.
Both of the vehicles overturned separated by about a quarter of a mile.
"It's a lonely stretch, it's a straightaway; racing hasn't been a problem," said Arlington police spokesman Sgt. Matt Pedersen. "We haven't had too many serious accidents to this point, but obviously, with this kind of result, everyone can see what can result from it."
Christopher Burgess of Cleburne, 19, was ejected from one of the trucks and died on his birthday.
Police said four other young people were transported to local hospitals by ground and helicopter ambulances.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
Mike Zukerman / WFAA ABC 8
Two pickup trucks overturned in the wreck.
ARLINGTON, Texas — A 19-year-old man died and four others were hurt early Sunday when an illegal street race ended in a wreck.
Police said two pickup trucks were racing on Turner Warnell Road west of Highway 287 near Mansfield around 1:30 a.m. when they collided several times.
Both of the vehicles overturned separated by about a quarter of a mile.
"It's a lonely stretch, it's a straightaway; racing hasn't been a problem," said Arlington police spokesman Sgt. Matt Pedersen. "We haven't had too many serious accidents to this point, but obviously, with this kind of result, everyone can see what can result from it."
Christopher Burgess of Cleburne, 19, was ejected from one of the trucks and died on his birthday.
Police said four other young people were transported to local hospitals by ground and helicopter ambulances.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
Mike Zukerman / WFAA ABC 8
Two pickup trucks overturned in the wreck.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas father dies in hail of gunfire
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The death of a Dallas man late last night had many grieving on Father's Day.
Police said Jose Javier Prado, 51, had just pulled in to the parking lot in the 4900 block of Coles Manor Place around 11:30 p.m. when a white Ford Thunderbird pulled up alongside and someone opened fire.
Prado was killed. His wife and 14-year-old daughter, who were in the car with him, were wounded and hospitalized at Baylor University Medical Center in stable condition.
The burst of gunfire was a rude awakening for neighbor Carrie Thomas. Not far from her bedroom window was where the Prado family had been gunned down.
"When you hear ten gunshots it really, really scares you because you're wondering what's going on," Thomas said.
Investigators said at least a dozen rounds were fired by the suspects, who are still at large.
"They're going to have to talk to some witnesses to see who was in that suspect vehicle," said Donna Hernandez of the Dallas Police Dept. "If anyone could see how many people were in that suspect vehicle."
As police try to figure out who did this and why, neighbors are asking the same question. They describe the victim as someone who was friendly, quiet and peaceful.
"I would see him when he came by here and he'd say good day or good evening," said Ofelio Arevalo, a neighbor. "I don't have any reason to think he was a bad person. He was a good person and didn't have any enemies. I have no idea what happened."
People who live in the apartment complex came by the murder scene throughout the day. They don't understand how someone who lived such a quiet life could die so violently.
"They just said that somebody shot the wrong person," Thomas said. "But I don't know. It's just scary, really scary. I know I'm getting out from over here."
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The death of a Dallas man late last night had many grieving on Father's Day.
Police said Jose Javier Prado, 51, had just pulled in to the parking lot in the 4900 block of Coles Manor Place around 11:30 p.m. when a white Ford Thunderbird pulled up alongside and someone opened fire.
Prado was killed. His wife and 14-year-old daughter, who were in the car with him, were wounded and hospitalized at Baylor University Medical Center in stable condition.
The burst of gunfire was a rude awakening for neighbor Carrie Thomas. Not far from her bedroom window was where the Prado family had been gunned down.
"When you hear ten gunshots it really, really scares you because you're wondering what's going on," Thomas said.
Investigators said at least a dozen rounds were fired by the suspects, who are still at large.
"They're going to have to talk to some witnesses to see who was in that suspect vehicle," said Donna Hernandez of the Dallas Police Dept. "If anyone could see how many people were in that suspect vehicle."
As police try to figure out who did this and why, neighbors are asking the same question. They describe the victim as someone who was friendly, quiet and peaceful.
"I would see him when he came by here and he'd say good day or good evening," said Ofelio Arevalo, a neighbor. "I don't have any reason to think he was a bad person. He was a good person and didn't have any enemies. I have no idea what happened."
People who live in the apartment complex came by the murder scene throughout the day. They don't understand how someone who lived such a quiet life could die so violently.
"They just said that somebody shot the wrong person," Thomas said. "But I don't know. It's just scary, really scary. I know I'm getting out from over here."
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Guardian Angels launch Dallas patrols
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The Guardian Angels began walking the streets of Lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas Friday night.
Leaders of the organization said they will be on patrol at least twice a week trying to help the over-burdened police department and the business community get a handle on the city's worst-in-the-nation crime rate.
At the same time, they will try to maintain a high profile in many sections of Dallas.
"We'll be patrolling this area, Greenville tonight, and possibly Deep Ellum later on," said organizer Frank Lee.
Minutes into their first patrol, the volunteers began their walk along Greenville Avenue—part deterrent and part extra set of eyes for police.
"The sole purpose of the Guardian Angels here in Dallas is to be where a police officer cannot," Lee said.
The Guardian Angels, easily identified by their trademark red berets and white T-shirts, are not armed. They say if they see anything out of the ordinary or witness a crime in progress, they will call the police and try to hold the suspect until officers arrive.
"We're going to be prepared to just detain that person and implement a citizen's arrest," Lee said.
Dallas police and some city officials have been lukewarm at best to the Guardian Angels, who have been very successful at their base in New York City and who now have chapters in Houston and in other cities across the U.S. and around the world.
New recruit Andy Montayo said the Angels will make a difference. "Violence is everywhere, crime is everywhere, and I just feel it's my part of giving back," he said.
Dallas ranks number one in the country for crime. Some area businesspeople said city leaders should welcome the Guardian Angels' help.
"It is a good strategy. People have to pay more attention today," said restaurant owner Christopher Rodriguez. "They only think about drinking and getting drunk, having fun all night."
Pawn shop owner Aris Garcia added, "maybe the guys will do something that police haven't been able to do."
On Saturday afternoon, Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa will speak to recruits at a graduation ceremony at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas.
Saturday night, the Angels plan to return to the streets.
Courtesy of WFAA ABC 8
Unarmed volunteers maintained a high profile around Lower Greenville restaurants.
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - The Guardian Angels began walking the streets of Lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas Friday night.
Leaders of the organization said they will be on patrol at least twice a week trying to help the over-burdened police department and the business community get a handle on the city's worst-in-the-nation crime rate.
At the same time, they will try to maintain a high profile in many sections of Dallas.
"We'll be patrolling this area, Greenville tonight, and possibly Deep Ellum later on," said organizer Frank Lee.
Minutes into their first patrol, the volunteers began their walk along Greenville Avenue—part deterrent and part extra set of eyes for police.
"The sole purpose of the Guardian Angels here in Dallas is to be where a police officer cannot," Lee said.
The Guardian Angels, easily identified by their trademark red berets and white T-shirts, are not armed. They say if they see anything out of the ordinary or witness a crime in progress, they will call the police and try to hold the suspect until officers arrive.
"We're going to be prepared to just detain that person and implement a citizen's arrest," Lee said.
Dallas police and some city officials have been lukewarm at best to the Guardian Angels, who have been very successful at their base in New York City and who now have chapters in Houston and in other cities across the U.S. and around the world.
New recruit Andy Montayo said the Angels will make a difference. "Violence is everywhere, crime is everywhere, and I just feel it's my part of giving back," he said.
Dallas ranks number one in the country for crime. Some area businesspeople said city leaders should welcome the Guardian Angels' help.
"It is a good strategy. People have to pay more attention today," said restaurant owner Christopher Rodriguez. "They only think about drinking and getting drunk, having fun all night."
Pawn shop owner Aris Garcia added, "maybe the guys will do something that police haven't been able to do."
On Saturday afternoon, Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa will speak to recruits at a graduation ceremony at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas.
Saturday night, the Angels plan to return to the streets.
Courtesy of WFAA ABC 8
Unarmed volunteers maintained a high profile around Lower Greenville restaurants.
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Finding a way to offset 'Robin Hood'
Fees from property sales aid Denton County schools, but some fear inequity
By JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON, Texas - As state lawmakers return to Austin for a school funding session, two Denton County developments quietly continued an unusual – and essentially anti-"Robin Hood" – method to fund education.
The developments – Castle Hills and Lantana – raise money for schools through an 0.5 percent mandatory surcharge on property sales, a formula immune to the state system of redistributing money from wealthy districts to poorer ones.
The Castle Hills development foundation in the Lewisville school district gives money only to schools its students attend, including private schools. As the development grows, the foundation expects to dole out up to $2 million annually.
"We started it because we were starting to see the impact Robin Hood was having on the school district where I live, Highland Park," said Castle Hills developer Chris Bright.
Developers create the surcharge by placing a permanent restriction on the development's original deed before the land is subdivided.
When the developer or builder sells a plot, he pays the fee. When a homeowner sells the house later, the seller pays the fee.
The foundations and the surcharge remain largely unknown by school funding experts and state lawmakers. Told of the methods, two state lawmakers said they may investigate.
Critics attack the foundations on two fronts: school equity and property rights.
"It just adds to a system that's already out of balance," said Wayne Pierce, executive director of the Equity Center, a group that represents poorer Texas school districts.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said she has questions about the funding.
"There is the inherent danger in allowing a private person to distribute public resources," she said. "I'd also be concerned about double taxation," she said, since homeowners already pay property taxes earmarked for schools."
Foundations in wealthy districts have long tried to use fundraising to replace what Robin Hood takes. But the Castle Hills model could supplant donations with a deeper cash flow.
"When states institute policies that try to spread money, local communities try to use fundraising find ways to get more money into their kids' schools," said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
Lantana, a 1,718-acre development north of Flower Mound, copied Castle Hills' surcharge.
"We hope being in Lantana creates a lot more value than being outside of Lantana, and therefore one-half of 1 percent is nothing compared to the added benefit of being in Lantana," said developer Rick Strauss.
"It could be a trend," said William Porter, executive director of Grant Makers for Education, a network of educational foundations based in Portland, Ore. "It's a very innovative solution to a thorny problem. If you see a lot more of that, you'll see policymakers saying, 'Wait, that's not at all what we intended.' "
This wouldn't be the first trend to draw attention to Castle Hills developer Mr. Bright, who started the foundation in 1998.
In 2001, The Dallas Morning News reported how Mr. Bright and other developers used special taxing districts, often created by elections with a single voter, to fund their developments.
The News reported that Mr. Bright and other developers drew district boundaries to exclude all existing residents of an area, then moved the only voters into rent-free mobile homes shortly before elections.
Developers have used the technique for a century, but complaints led the state to close several loopholes.
Fund in action
The Castle Hills foundation donated more money this spring to a single public elementary school ($126,000) than the 15-year-old Lewisville Education Foundation gave the district last year ($95,000).
Castle Hills Elementary uses the money for items as small as student planners and as large as a rock-climbing wall.
Teachers benefit, too. The foundation subsidizes teachers pursuing advanced degrees and writes a $1,000 check to the teacher of the year.
The foundation wants to equip the school's 732 students with $1,500 laptop computers.
That's possible as the foundation's fund swells.
The average Castle Hills home sells for $412,000. At that price, the seller pays $2,060 to the foundation. Mr. Bright said he, too, pays the fee, contributing about $385,000 since 1998 on lots he has sold.
One Castle Hills homeowner, Ansir Ansari, said residents would oppose it, but they're too busy to worry about a fee they won't pay until moving.
"What I don't agree is you pay for leaving the community," said Dr. Ansari, who has four school-age children.
"I'm paying for kids I don't live with," Dr. Ansari said. "It's almost like welfare, that's what I think, welfare for the rich."
Wendel Withrow, a Carrollton lawyer who led lawsuits against special taxing districts, called Mr. Bright's foundation the "next generation" of developer-levied taxation.
"They're trying to add it on and call it something different," Mr. Withrow said. "It doesn't pass the smell test. It may be totally legal, but it looks bad."
Managed by Brights
Mr. Bright said the surcharge is no different from homeowners' association dues.
But homeowners' associations are formed and managed by homeowners. Only Bright family members serve on the foundation's board of directors.
Mr. Bright, the son of former Dallas Cowboys owner H.R. "Bum" Bright, said his family can run the foundation better than a group of homeowners.
A review of the foundation's 2003 tax forms, the most recent available, showed that the foundation does not pay board members, and it does not appear the Bright family benefits beyond the added draw to the development.
In the report, the foundation said it unwittingly donated money to a for-profit preschool, which violates rules for nonprofits. Mr. Bright's company refunded the grant to the foundation.
The Castle Hills board instructs committees of residents and teachers how much money to give schools. The committees determine how to spend the money.
Ms. Nelson, who led the fight in Austin against special taxing districts, said only elected officials should collect mandatory fees for public services.
Her district includes Lantana and borders Castle Hills.
State House Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, whose district includes Castle Hills, hasn't heard complaints.
"It's voluntary," Mr. Solomons said. "Those people don't have to move in there, so I don't see why the state should get involved."
The chair of the House subcommittee that oversees school funding disagreed.
"I do have a problem with double taxation and involuntary payments," said state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham. "I'd like to study this more. It certainly adds a twist to the school funding debate."
State and national school funding experts said they hadn't heard of a funding concept that raises money via a mandatory fee – other than government taxation.
Equity issue
Equity advocates say the surcharge furthers divide the rich and poor: New developments attract wealthy families into already strong districts.
Mr. Porter said school districts should require foundations to spread funds more equitably.
For example, the Portland Education Foundation in Oregon requires that 30 percent of donations exceeding $5,000 be distributed to poorer schools.
The Lewisville school board has not discussed the equity issue. Board President Fred Placke said he wouldn't force Castle Hills to spread its money throughout the district.
If officials enact intra-district revenue sharing, developers said they would pull out.
"If you start restricting them and telling them what's good and where the money should go, it doesn't work," said Mr. Strauss, the Lantana developer. "That's what state money is for."
But equity advocates said they are more concerned with Castle Hills than Lantana, which spreads its foundation money outside of Lantana interests.
Lantana has given $1 million to the Denton school district's general fund and money to a school in a low-income area.
Ms. Nelson said she'd consider legislation if residents complain, but Castle Hills and Lantana residents haven't organized opposition.
Mr. Bright said his office has received fewer than 10 complaints about the fee since 1998.
"The kids are benefiting, and the schools are benefiting," said Barry Halbert, a six-year resident. "I think it's a great thing."
Fees from property sales aid Denton County schools, but some fear inequity
By JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON, Texas - As state lawmakers return to Austin for a school funding session, two Denton County developments quietly continued an unusual – and essentially anti-"Robin Hood" – method to fund education.
The developments – Castle Hills and Lantana – raise money for schools through an 0.5 percent mandatory surcharge on property sales, a formula immune to the state system of redistributing money from wealthy districts to poorer ones.
The Castle Hills development foundation in the Lewisville school district gives money only to schools its students attend, including private schools. As the development grows, the foundation expects to dole out up to $2 million annually.
"We started it because we were starting to see the impact Robin Hood was having on the school district where I live, Highland Park," said Castle Hills developer Chris Bright.
Developers create the surcharge by placing a permanent restriction on the development's original deed before the land is subdivided.
When the developer or builder sells a plot, he pays the fee. When a homeowner sells the house later, the seller pays the fee.
The foundations and the surcharge remain largely unknown by school funding experts and state lawmakers. Told of the methods, two state lawmakers said they may investigate.
Critics attack the foundations on two fronts: school equity and property rights.
"It just adds to a system that's already out of balance," said Wayne Pierce, executive director of the Equity Center, a group that represents poorer Texas school districts.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said she has questions about the funding.
"There is the inherent danger in allowing a private person to distribute public resources," she said. "I'd also be concerned about double taxation," she said, since homeowners already pay property taxes earmarked for schools."
Foundations in wealthy districts have long tried to use fundraising to replace what Robin Hood takes. But the Castle Hills model could supplant donations with a deeper cash flow.
"When states institute policies that try to spread money, local communities try to use fundraising find ways to get more money into their kids' schools," said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
Lantana, a 1,718-acre development north of Flower Mound, copied Castle Hills' surcharge.
"We hope being in Lantana creates a lot more value than being outside of Lantana, and therefore one-half of 1 percent is nothing compared to the added benefit of being in Lantana," said developer Rick Strauss.
"It could be a trend," said William Porter, executive director of Grant Makers for Education, a network of educational foundations based in Portland, Ore. "It's a very innovative solution to a thorny problem. If you see a lot more of that, you'll see policymakers saying, 'Wait, that's not at all what we intended.' "
This wouldn't be the first trend to draw attention to Castle Hills developer Mr. Bright, who started the foundation in 1998.
In 2001, The Dallas Morning News reported how Mr. Bright and other developers used special taxing districts, often created by elections with a single voter, to fund their developments.
The News reported that Mr. Bright and other developers drew district boundaries to exclude all existing residents of an area, then moved the only voters into rent-free mobile homes shortly before elections.
Developers have used the technique for a century, but complaints led the state to close several loopholes.
Fund in action
The Castle Hills foundation donated more money this spring to a single public elementary school ($126,000) than the 15-year-old Lewisville Education Foundation gave the district last year ($95,000).
Castle Hills Elementary uses the money for items as small as student planners and as large as a rock-climbing wall.
Teachers benefit, too. The foundation subsidizes teachers pursuing advanced degrees and writes a $1,000 check to the teacher of the year.
The foundation wants to equip the school's 732 students with $1,500 laptop computers.
That's possible as the foundation's fund swells.
The average Castle Hills home sells for $412,000. At that price, the seller pays $2,060 to the foundation. Mr. Bright said he, too, pays the fee, contributing about $385,000 since 1998 on lots he has sold.
One Castle Hills homeowner, Ansir Ansari, said residents would oppose it, but they're too busy to worry about a fee they won't pay until moving.
"What I don't agree is you pay for leaving the community," said Dr. Ansari, who has four school-age children.
"I'm paying for kids I don't live with," Dr. Ansari said. "It's almost like welfare, that's what I think, welfare for the rich."
Wendel Withrow, a Carrollton lawyer who led lawsuits against special taxing districts, called Mr. Bright's foundation the "next generation" of developer-levied taxation.
"They're trying to add it on and call it something different," Mr. Withrow said. "It doesn't pass the smell test. It may be totally legal, but it looks bad."
Managed by Brights
Mr. Bright said the surcharge is no different from homeowners' association dues.
But homeowners' associations are formed and managed by homeowners. Only Bright family members serve on the foundation's board of directors.
Mr. Bright, the son of former Dallas Cowboys owner H.R. "Bum" Bright, said his family can run the foundation better than a group of homeowners.
A review of the foundation's 2003 tax forms, the most recent available, showed that the foundation does not pay board members, and it does not appear the Bright family benefits beyond the added draw to the development.
In the report, the foundation said it unwittingly donated money to a for-profit preschool, which violates rules for nonprofits. Mr. Bright's company refunded the grant to the foundation.
The Castle Hills board instructs committees of residents and teachers how much money to give schools. The committees determine how to spend the money.
Ms. Nelson, who led the fight in Austin against special taxing districts, said only elected officials should collect mandatory fees for public services.
Her district includes Lantana and borders Castle Hills.
State House Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, whose district includes Castle Hills, hasn't heard complaints.
"It's voluntary," Mr. Solomons said. "Those people don't have to move in there, so I don't see why the state should get involved."
The chair of the House subcommittee that oversees school funding disagreed.
"I do have a problem with double taxation and involuntary payments," said state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham. "I'd like to study this more. It certainly adds a twist to the school funding debate."
State and national school funding experts said they hadn't heard of a funding concept that raises money via a mandatory fee – other than government taxation.
Equity issue
Equity advocates say the surcharge furthers divide the rich and poor: New developments attract wealthy families into already strong districts.
Mr. Porter said school districts should require foundations to spread funds more equitably.
For example, the Portland Education Foundation in Oregon requires that 30 percent of donations exceeding $5,000 be distributed to poorer schools.
The Lewisville school board has not discussed the equity issue. Board President Fred Placke said he wouldn't force Castle Hills to spread its money throughout the district.
If officials enact intra-district revenue sharing, developers said they would pull out.
"If you start restricting them and telling them what's good and where the money should go, it doesn't work," said Mr. Strauss, the Lantana developer. "That's what state money is for."
But equity advocates said they are more concerned with Castle Hills than Lantana, which spreads its foundation money outside of Lantana interests.
Lantana has given $1 million to the Denton school district's general fund and money to a school in a low-income area.
Ms. Nelson said she'd consider legislation if residents complain, but Castle Hills and Lantana residents haven't organized opposition.
Mr. Bright said his office has received fewer than 10 complaints about the fee since 1998.
"The kids are benefiting, and the schools are benefiting," said Barry Halbert, a six-year resident. "I think it's a great thing."
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TexasStooge
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- Contact:
Cause gets personal for sick kid's family
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - But now it's become personal.
Tait and Joy Cruse have been on a mission: to bring some comfort to the families of sick kids at Children's Medical Center Dallas.
The businessman's company sponsors the Chip Moody Classic, a golf tournament that benefits the hospital and tees off today at the Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco. In April, the Cruses had just finished a photo shoot at Children's for their fundraising efforts, and they were feeling blessed.
"I remember we said in the elevator that this is a great place for people to have in Dallas, but I hope we never have to be here," Ms. Cruse said.
A month later, they returned to Children's with their son, Connor, who had been complaining of a persistent stomachache.
It was much worse. Cancer had spread throughout the 4-year-old's body – in his adrenal glands, lymph nodes, bone marrow and elsewhere. The diagnosis: stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.
"The whole time I'm thinking it's his appendix," Ms. Cruse said.
The bad news kept coming. Treatment for the cancer – five courses of chemotherapy, two bone marrow transplants and other procedures that will continue for months – would be punishing on the boy. And the survival rate is 40 to 45 percent.
"It's horrific the levels of pain sometimes, but we have our friends, our faith, our family," said Mr. Cruse, managing partner of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, The Texas Financial Group-Dallas.
And they have the staff at Children's.
Although "lucky" and "cancer" are not words often placed together, that's exactly how the Cruses feel to have Connor in a hospital considered one of the best in the world for treating childhood diseases.
"We believed it before and saw it before, but now we know it," Mr. Cruse said.
About 2 percent of all children who develop cancer in the U.S. each year are treated at Children's.
Connor has just finished his second round of chemotherapy. He's lost his hair and about 10 percent of his body weight, and he has bouts of nausea and crankiness. But he's doing pretty well, his father said.
He's enthralled with Spider-Man, loves Ding Dongs and looks up to Michael Jordan, who shares his hairstyle. But he's upset that his central line – a semi-permanent tube inserted in his chest for chemotherapy – keeps him out of the swimming pool.
"He is a tough guy," Mr. Cruse said. "One minute he's throwing up, and the next he wants queso dip."
Connor's parents are also pretty tough, said Dr. Bob Bash, a pediatric oncologist at Children's. It is hard to speak publicly about such a personal tragedy, and he said the Cruses' continued efforts at fundraising for the hospital are striking.
"You can be depressed and hide, or you can say, 'Not only are we going to get through this, but we're going to help other people,' " Dr. Bash said. "They've taken the latter path. Not everyone can do that."
Because of Connor's cancer and susceptibility to infection, he can't go to the hospital's golf tournament, which is expected to attract about 500 golfers, physicians, business leaders and others.
The tournament is named after Chip Moody, the longtime WFAA-TV (Channel 8) news anchor who died of cancer in 2001.
The tournament proceeds, which have exceeded $1.6 million in the past 17 years, help the families of needy patients pay for food, parking, prescriptions and many other costs associated with having a sick child.
That's a cause that has become dearer to Mr. Cruse as he's spent his nights with Connor at the hospital and met the parents of other ill children.
While the Cruses' friends and family have brought elaborate dinners to them at the hospital, Mr. Cruse said he's watched as other families eat from cans of soup or bags of potato chips.
"I spent $500 on nausea medicine last Friday," he said. "How do you get through it if you are a single mother working at Ace Hardware or someplace else?"
And while she feels blessed for so much help, Ms. Cruse said she'd do anything to go back to the time when her family's fundraising efforts at Children's didn't hit so close to home.
"There's no way you can fathom what a family goes through unless you go through it," said Ms. Cruse, who is five months' pregnant with the couple's fourth child.
"I'd love to go back to that ignorant state before I knew what a central line was."
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - But now it's become personal.
Tait and Joy Cruse have been on a mission: to bring some comfort to the families of sick kids at Children's Medical Center Dallas.
The businessman's company sponsors the Chip Moody Classic, a golf tournament that benefits the hospital and tees off today at the Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco. In April, the Cruses had just finished a photo shoot at Children's for their fundraising efforts, and they were feeling blessed.
"I remember we said in the elevator that this is a great place for people to have in Dallas, but I hope we never have to be here," Ms. Cruse said.
A month later, they returned to Children's with their son, Connor, who had been complaining of a persistent stomachache.
It was much worse. Cancer had spread throughout the 4-year-old's body – in his adrenal glands, lymph nodes, bone marrow and elsewhere. The diagnosis: stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.
"The whole time I'm thinking it's his appendix," Ms. Cruse said.
The bad news kept coming. Treatment for the cancer – five courses of chemotherapy, two bone marrow transplants and other procedures that will continue for months – would be punishing on the boy. And the survival rate is 40 to 45 percent.
"It's horrific the levels of pain sometimes, but we have our friends, our faith, our family," said Mr. Cruse, managing partner of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, The Texas Financial Group-Dallas.
And they have the staff at Children's.
Although "lucky" and "cancer" are not words often placed together, that's exactly how the Cruses feel to have Connor in a hospital considered one of the best in the world for treating childhood diseases.
"We believed it before and saw it before, but now we know it," Mr. Cruse said.
About 2 percent of all children who develop cancer in the U.S. each year are treated at Children's.
Connor has just finished his second round of chemotherapy. He's lost his hair and about 10 percent of his body weight, and he has bouts of nausea and crankiness. But he's doing pretty well, his father said.
He's enthralled with Spider-Man, loves Ding Dongs and looks up to Michael Jordan, who shares his hairstyle. But he's upset that his central line – a semi-permanent tube inserted in his chest for chemotherapy – keeps him out of the swimming pool.
"He is a tough guy," Mr. Cruse said. "One minute he's throwing up, and the next he wants queso dip."
Connor's parents are also pretty tough, said Dr. Bob Bash, a pediatric oncologist at Children's. It is hard to speak publicly about such a personal tragedy, and he said the Cruses' continued efforts at fundraising for the hospital are striking.
"You can be depressed and hide, or you can say, 'Not only are we going to get through this, but we're going to help other people,' " Dr. Bash said. "They've taken the latter path. Not everyone can do that."
Because of Connor's cancer and susceptibility to infection, he can't go to the hospital's golf tournament, which is expected to attract about 500 golfers, physicians, business leaders and others.
The tournament is named after Chip Moody, the longtime WFAA-TV (Channel 8) news anchor who died of cancer in 2001.
The tournament proceeds, which have exceeded $1.6 million in the past 17 years, help the families of needy patients pay for food, parking, prescriptions and many other costs associated with having a sick child.
That's a cause that has become dearer to Mr. Cruse as he's spent his nights with Connor at the hospital and met the parents of other ill children.
While the Cruses' friends and family have brought elaborate dinners to them at the hospital, Mr. Cruse said he's watched as other families eat from cans of soup or bags of potato chips.
"I spent $500 on nausea medicine last Friday," he said. "How do you get through it if you are a single mother working at Ace Hardware or someplace else?"
And while she feels blessed for so much help, Ms. Cruse said she'd do anything to go back to the time when her family's fundraising efforts at Children's didn't hit so close to home.
"There's no way you can fathom what a family goes through unless you go through it," said Ms. Cruse, who is five months' pregnant with the couple's fourth child.
"I'd love to go back to that ignorant state before I knew what a central line was."
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TexasStooge
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Man arrested in woman's slaying
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Police on Sunday arrested a 29-year-old man suspected of killing a young Dallas mother after she left a northwest Dallas nightclub early Saturday morning.
Genaro Trevino, 29, was arrested on a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of 19-year old Christina Marie Rodriguez. Mr. Trevino allegedly pursued Ms. Rodriguez, her cousin Angela Rodriguez and some friends after they left Kaoba dance club in the 10000 block of Denton Drive about 1:30 a.m.
Christina, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, had pulled over to the side of southbound Harry Hines Boulevard to retrieve her cellphone to call 911 when Mr. Trevino pulled up beside her and fired at her, police said. She died at the scene.
Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez, a Dallas police spokeswoman, said the description of the vehicle and witness statements led police to Mr. Trevino. No other arrests are expected in the case, she said.
Gerardo Trevino said his brother told his mother that he was surprised by the arrest.
"He spoke to my mom, and he told her he had nothing to do with it," the suspect's brother said.
According to a public records search, Mr. Trevino was charged with capital murder in Dallas in 2001.
Cpl. Hernandez said she was aware that Mr. Trevino may have faced a prior murder charge but was unaware of the outcome. Details of that case were unavailable.
Mr. Trevino's criminal background also includes convictions for driving with a suspended license, marijuana possession, evading arrest and assault.
Mr. Trevino admired and long pursued Christina, sometimes showing up at her job at a Dallas Chevrolet dealership, said Christina's family members.
Christina's mother, Mary Rodriguez, said she never met Mr. Trevino but was glad an arrest was made.
"But that doesn't take my pain away," said Ms. Rodriguez. "It doesn't relieve my heart. It doesn't stop my tears."
Ms. Rodriguez said she doesn't think Christina knew about Mr. Trevino's background.
"If she would've known, I'm pretty sure she would have told me," she said. "If I would've found out, I would have taken the extra steps to make sure she didn't cross his path."
Staff writer Brandon Formby contributed to this report.
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Police on Sunday arrested a 29-year-old man suspected of killing a young Dallas mother after she left a northwest Dallas nightclub early Saturday morning.
Genaro Trevino, 29, was arrested on a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of 19-year old Christina Marie Rodriguez. Mr. Trevino allegedly pursued Ms. Rodriguez, her cousin Angela Rodriguez and some friends after they left Kaoba dance club in the 10000 block of Denton Drive about 1:30 a.m.
Christina, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, had pulled over to the side of southbound Harry Hines Boulevard to retrieve her cellphone to call 911 when Mr. Trevino pulled up beside her and fired at her, police said. She died at the scene.
Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez, a Dallas police spokeswoman, said the description of the vehicle and witness statements led police to Mr. Trevino. No other arrests are expected in the case, she said.
Gerardo Trevino said his brother told his mother that he was surprised by the arrest.
"He spoke to my mom, and he told her he had nothing to do with it," the suspect's brother said.
According to a public records search, Mr. Trevino was charged with capital murder in Dallas in 2001.
Cpl. Hernandez said she was aware that Mr. Trevino may have faced a prior murder charge but was unaware of the outcome. Details of that case were unavailable.
Mr. Trevino's criminal background also includes convictions for driving with a suspended license, marijuana possession, evading arrest and assault.
Mr. Trevino admired and long pursued Christina, sometimes showing up at her job at a Dallas Chevrolet dealership, said Christina's family members.
Christina's mother, Mary Rodriguez, said she never met Mr. Trevino but was glad an arrest was made.
"But that doesn't take my pain away," said Ms. Rodriguez. "It doesn't relieve my heart. It doesn't stop my tears."
Ms. Rodriguez said she doesn't think Christina knew about Mr. Trevino's background.
"If she would've known, I'm pretty sure she would have told me," she said. "If I would've found out, I would have taken the extra steps to make sure she didn't cross his path."
Staff writer Brandon Formby contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Irving mayor-elect known for being direct
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – The day after voters booted him from the Irving City Council last year, Herbert Gears sat on his porch, scribbling thoughts about how he could win a more prominent job: mayor.
"No one's seen the last of me," he said.
Last weekend, voters elected the 43-year-old to serve in the city's top spot. He'll be sworn in this week.
Irving's new mayor is charismatic and outgoing. He wears loud suits and big rings.
He's also outspoken, sharing blunt opinions during council meetings. The city's movers and shakers either like Mr. Gears or don't. Critics call him divisive. Friends say he's direct.
"I've never been known to kiss the right rear ends in the right way all the time," Mr. Gears said last year.
While he may be flashy, he reaches out to minorities and is an advocate for the poor. Friends say he's generous with people in need.
He used to be one of them. He said his life experiences, which include a trailer-home upbringing and a suicidal mother, have prepared him to serve others.
"From where I came from, you'd never expect me to be where I am today," he said in an interview last week.
From there to here
By the time Herbert Gears finished elementary school near Houston, he had attended school at 12 campuses.
By the time he was 18, his mother, Lauralee, had been married eight times.
When he was 4, he said, his stepfather died in a fire. About six weeks later, a drunken driver killed Mr. Gears' father and stepmother.
Mr. Gears said he spent his childhood bouncing between apartments and run-down mobile home parks.
His mother would slit her wrists, he said. One time, Mr. Gears walked in as she had a shotgun aimed at her neck.
The weapon didn't go off.
Despite the instability, Mr. Gears was a good student, particularly in math, and almost always made straight A's. Mom insisted on it.
He said he loves his mother, who taught him to stand up for what he believes.
"I wouldn't change one moment of it," he said. "Because all of it was necessary to prepare me to be able to help a lot of people."
Lauralee Hubbard, who lives in Humble, said her son's challenging upbringing has made him more understanding. She said her son is smart and calm and helps those less fortunate.
"He's gentle, he's caring, he has a big heart," Ms. Hubbard said Saturday in a telephone interview. "He's just a really good man ... he's a very special person. He's a wonderful son."
Mr. Gears was the first in his family to go to college, attending the University of Houston. He worked a night job at Automatic Data Processing Inc., stuffing paperwork into bags, and sent money to his mother.
Bosses offered him a manager's job in Dallas. Mr. Gears, 20 at the time, accepted the job and left school. He rose through ADP's ranks, becoming a sales vice president.
Today, he works with his wife, Christina, at CMW Financial Inc., a company she founded that helps educators plan for retirement.
Friends and family say he's resilient. Mr. Gears is hardworking, energetic and intelligent, said Sharon Barbosa-Crain, a former council member.
"He tends not to give up," she said. "If there's one defining thing about ... Herbert Gears over the years is that he tends to rise to whatever challenge is in front of him."
Cathy Jackson said her brother is likeable, competitive and gifted. He hates to lose. He's painfully honest, she said, and people can be put off by that.
He's come a long way, she said.
"When you spend your life a certain way ... you're always hopeful it's going to be better," she said. "So you do whatever you have to do to change the life that you have."
'I can do that'
Going into politics didn't enter Mr. Gears' mind until the early 1990s, when he was sitting on his couch, watching an Irving school district board meeting on television.
"I can do that," he said.
Soon, he was on the Planning and Zoning Commission. In 1998, he was elected to the council.
He earned a reputation for having a tart tongue.
When outgoing Mayor Joe Putnam proposed that Mr. Gears be pulled as the council's liaison to the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau because of his stance on a proposed convention center, Mr. Gears responded: "I think it's a bunch of Joe Putnam political crap."
After losing last year's heated council election to Beth Van Duyne, Mr. Gears said, "She really showed her horns at the end."
Mr. Gears said he feels comfortable telling it like it is because he likes being honest. He said he doesn't appreciate superficiality.
"I always wanted to be the kid in the crowd who said, 'The emperor has no clothes,' " he said.
But he has a softer side. As a council member, Mr. Gears helped establish a community development block grant program and spearhead a neighborhood clinic.
Mr. Gears said he's just a regular guy. But he sticks out in a crowd.
He wears suits with bright colors and vivid patterns, although he recently toned down his wardrobe. He wears large rings on his fingers, one of which is adorned with a meteorite, diamonds and gold.
"I like being unique," he said.
Mr. Gears is thoughtful, genuine and a good listener, his wife said. He's also a romantic and a good cook, Mrs. Gears said. She's particularly fond of his fried chicken.
Her husband speaks his mind because he knows it's the right thing to do, she said.
"I don't want to sound gushy or anything," Mrs. Gears said, "but the guy is extraordinary."
'I'm ready'
A wall in Mr. Gears' Las Colinas office is lined with Dallas Cowboys memorabilia. But he got rid of many of the items in frustration after Arlington voters approved a measure to build a new stadium.
The new mayor will have to deal with Texas Stadium's future. He has other issues to tackle, including code enforcement, a hot issue as residents have sounded off about the need for reform.
"A lot has been dumped into my lap," he said. "I'm ready for it."
While Mr. Gears may be flashy and flamboyant, he's a motivator who can rally people, council member James Dickens said. The council's lone Hispanic applauds Mr. Gears' efforts to reach out to minorities.
"He's going to be a team player on the council," Mr. Dickens said.
Ms. Van Duyne, who in a recent letter wrote that Mr. Gears was a divisive force when he was on the council, hopes things aren't awkward between them.
"We don't have to agree on everything, but we still have to work together," she said. "I am going to work with him."
Mr. Gears is confident he'll get along with colleagues.
"How they view me doesn't matter," he said. "The responsibility of the position transcends personal opinion."
Despite the flash, despite the confidence, Mr. Gears admits that being mayor is scary. Because people are counting on him.
"There's a lot of responsibility," he said. "You see the caliber of those who support you – their character, their spirit and their values."
"You become afraid to let them down."
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – The day after voters booted him from the Irving City Council last year, Herbert Gears sat on his porch, scribbling thoughts about how he could win a more prominent job: mayor.
"No one's seen the last of me," he said.
Last weekend, voters elected the 43-year-old to serve in the city's top spot. He'll be sworn in this week.
Irving's new mayor is charismatic and outgoing. He wears loud suits and big rings.
He's also outspoken, sharing blunt opinions during council meetings. The city's movers and shakers either like Mr. Gears or don't. Critics call him divisive. Friends say he's direct.
"I've never been known to kiss the right rear ends in the right way all the time," Mr. Gears said last year.
While he may be flashy, he reaches out to minorities and is an advocate for the poor. Friends say he's generous with people in need.
He used to be one of them. He said his life experiences, which include a trailer-home upbringing and a suicidal mother, have prepared him to serve others.
"From where I came from, you'd never expect me to be where I am today," he said in an interview last week.
From there to here
By the time Herbert Gears finished elementary school near Houston, he had attended school at 12 campuses.
By the time he was 18, his mother, Lauralee, had been married eight times.
When he was 4, he said, his stepfather died in a fire. About six weeks later, a drunken driver killed Mr. Gears' father and stepmother.
Mr. Gears said he spent his childhood bouncing between apartments and run-down mobile home parks.
His mother would slit her wrists, he said. One time, Mr. Gears walked in as she had a shotgun aimed at her neck.
The weapon didn't go off.
Despite the instability, Mr. Gears was a good student, particularly in math, and almost always made straight A's. Mom insisted on it.
He said he loves his mother, who taught him to stand up for what he believes.
"I wouldn't change one moment of it," he said. "Because all of it was necessary to prepare me to be able to help a lot of people."
Lauralee Hubbard, who lives in Humble, said her son's challenging upbringing has made him more understanding. She said her son is smart and calm and helps those less fortunate.
"He's gentle, he's caring, he has a big heart," Ms. Hubbard said Saturday in a telephone interview. "He's just a really good man ... he's a very special person. He's a wonderful son."
Mr. Gears was the first in his family to go to college, attending the University of Houston. He worked a night job at Automatic Data Processing Inc., stuffing paperwork into bags, and sent money to his mother.
Bosses offered him a manager's job in Dallas. Mr. Gears, 20 at the time, accepted the job and left school. He rose through ADP's ranks, becoming a sales vice president.
Today, he works with his wife, Christina, at CMW Financial Inc., a company she founded that helps educators plan for retirement.
Friends and family say he's resilient. Mr. Gears is hardworking, energetic and intelligent, said Sharon Barbosa-Crain, a former council member.
"He tends not to give up," she said. "If there's one defining thing about ... Herbert Gears over the years is that he tends to rise to whatever challenge is in front of him."
Cathy Jackson said her brother is likeable, competitive and gifted. He hates to lose. He's painfully honest, she said, and people can be put off by that.
He's come a long way, she said.
"When you spend your life a certain way ... you're always hopeful it's going to be better," she said. "So you do whatever you have to do to change the life that you have."
'I can do that'
Going into politics didn't enter Mr. Gears' mind until the early 1990s, when he was sitting on his couch, watching an Irving school district board meeting on television.
"I can do that," he said.
Soon, he was on the Planning and Zoning Commission. In 1998, he was elected to the council.
He earned a reputation for having a tart tongue.
When outgoing Mayor Joe Putnam proposed that Mr. Gears be pulled as the council's liaison to the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau because of his stance on a proposed convention center, Mr. Gears responded: "I think it's a bunch of Joe Putnam political crap."
After losing last year's heated council election to Beth Van Duyne, Mr. Gears said, "She really showed her horns at the end."
Mr. Gears said he feels comfortable telling it like it is because he likes being honest. He said he doesn't appreciate superficiality.
"I always wanted to be the kid in the crowd who said, 'The emperor has no clothes,' " he said.
But he has a softer side. As a council member, Mr. Gears helped establish a community development block grant program and spearhead a neighborhood clinic.
Mr. Gears said he's just a regular guy. But he sticks out in a crowd.
He wears suits with bright colors and vivid patterns, although he recently toned down his wardrobe. He wears large rings on his fingers, one of which is adorned with a meteorite, diamonds and gold.
"I like being unique," he said.
Mr. Gears is thoughtful, genuine and a good listener, his wife said. He's also a romantic and a good cook, Mrs. Gears said. She's particularly fond of his fried chicken.
Her husband speaks his mind because he knows it's the right thing to do, she said.
"I don't want to sound gushy or anything," Mrs. Gears said, "but the guy is extraordinary."
'I'm ready'
A wall in Mr. Gears' Las Colinas office is lined with Dallas Cowboys memorabilia. But he got rid of many of the items in frustration after Arlington voters approved a measure to build a new stadium.
The new mayor will have to deal with Texas Stadium's future. He has other issues to tackle, including code enforcement, a hot issue as residents have sounded off about the need for reform.
"A lot has been dumped into my lap," he said. "I'm ready for it."
While Mr. Gears may be flashy and flamboyant, he's a motivator who can rally people, council member James Dickens said. The council's lone Hispanic applauds Mr. Gears' efforts to reach out to minorities.
"He's going to be a team player on the council," Mr. Dickens said.
Ms. Van Duyne, who in a recent letter wrote that Mr. Gears was a divisive force when he was on the council, hopes things aren't awkward between them.
"We don't have to agree on everything, but we still have to work together," she said. "I am going to work with him."
Mr. Gears is confident he'll get along with colleagues.
"How they view me doesn't matter," he said. "The responsibility of the position transcends personal opinion."
Despite the flash, despite the confidence, Mr. Gears admits that being mayor is scary. Because people are counting on him.
"There's a lot of responsibility," he said. "You see the caliber of those who support you – their character, their spirit and their values."
"You become afraid to let them down."
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TexasStooge
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- Contact:
Argentine expatriates find community
Irving: Immigrants' businesses grouped on Belt Line Road
By ISABEL ROJAS / Al Día
IRVING, Texas – Alejandra Moreno arrived in the United States six years ago, fleeing the unemployment and worsening economic crisis in her native Argentina.
Today, she owns her own beauty shop in Irving, where many Argentinians have settled since their country's economic collapse in 2001.
"It hasn't been easy to adapt. I call my mother almost every day. I miss her very much," said Ms. Moreno, who tries to send her mother $250 every other week. "The situation is still difficult there, and anything helps."
Little by little Argentinians find and create their meeting points. They come together in apartments and do their traditional parrilladas, with their mate and Argentine wines.
"We try to preserve our customs," Ms. Moreno said. "We're very united."
On Belt Line Road in Irving, her beauty shop is joined by other Argentinian businesses, including a bakery, restaurants and a dance hall.
"In order to get accustomed to living outside of the country, we have to create our own spaces," said Javier Moreno, a native of Mendoza. "Most people who live here are from Mexico, and they have another culture."
According to the Argentine consulate in Houston, with jurisdiction in Dallas, about 3,000 Argentinians lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2001. Today, about 7,000 Argentinians live here. About half of them are in the U.S. illegally.
Statistics are based on the number of people who come to the consulate to get passports, civil registries and other diplomatic service, said Ricardo A. Gauthier, consul of Argentina.
"Most of them have come to look for a job and improve their income, encouraged by a better offer than the one in Argentina in 2001," he said. "The currency devaluation was notorious, and it was hard to find a job; unemployment was high. Any job opportunity was better abroad."
Susana Novick from the Research Institute of the Gino Germani Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires, said that the Argentinians who emigrated in 2001 are a heterogeneous group and that the majority has been to college, but it is unclear whether they graduated.
The migration produced by the economic crisis is unprecedented in Argentina's history. According to a study by Ms. Novick and María Gabriela Murias, about 222,000 Argentinians emigrated between 2000 and 2002.
Irving: Immigrants' businesses grouped on Belt Line Road
By ISABEL ROJAS / Al Día
IRVING, Texas – Alejandra Moreno arrived in the United States six years ago, fleeing the unemployment and worsening economic crisis in her native Argentina.
Today, she owns her own beauty shop in Irving, where many Argentinians have settled since their country's economic collapse in 2001.
"It hasn't been easy to adapt. I call my mother almost every day. I miss her very much," said Ms. Moreno, who tries to send her mother $250 every other week. "The situation is still difficult there, and anything helps."
Little by little Argentinians find and create their meeting points. They come together in apartments and do their traditional parrilladas, with their mate and Argentine wines.
"We try to preserve our customs," Ms. Moreno said. "We're very united."
On Belt Line Road in Irving, her beauty shop is joined by other Argentinian businesses, including a bakery, restaurants and a dance hall.
"In order to get accustomed to living outside of the country, we have to create our own spaces," said Javier Moreno, a native of Mendoza. "Most people who live here are from Mexico, and they have another culture."
According to the Argentine consulate in Houston, with jurisdiction in Dallas, about 3,000 Argentinians lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2001. Today, about 7,000 Argentinians live here. About half of them are in the U.S. illegally.
Statistics are based on the number of people who come to the consulate to get passports, civil registries and other diplomatic service, said Ricardo A. Gauthier, consul of Argentina.
"Most of them have come to look for a job and improve their income, encouraged by a better offer than the one in Argentina in 2001," he said. "The currency devaluation was notorious, and it was hard to find a job; unemployment was high. Any job opportunity was better abroad."
Susana Novick from the Research Institute of the Gino Germani Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires, said that the Argentinians who emigrated in 2001 are a heterogeneous group and that the majority has been to college, but it is unclear whether they graduated.
The migration produced by the economic crisis is unprecedented in Argentina's history. According to a study by Ms. Novick and María Gabriela Murias, about 222,000 Argentinians emigrated between 2000 and 2002.
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TexasStooge
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Family has 3 fathers to celebrate
Irving: Patriarch shares holiday honors with nearby son, grandson
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Father's Day is special for Irving resident Pete Abadie. The holiday gives him a chance to relish having family nearby. His son, grandson and great-grandson live only a few miles away in Carrollton.
The Abadie family is one of many in the older communities of Carrollton and Irving that keeps family ties strong. They know they're lucky to have four generations in the area, especially in today's mobile society.
Mr. Abadie said his three daughters live in Houston, and another son lives in Cedar Park.
But his oldest son, Jim Abadie, 55, settled in Carrollton to teach after a 20-year career in the Air Force. Jim's son, Tony Abadie, 25, also lives in Carrollton and is the proud father of the extended family's only great-grandchild, 1-year-old Guerin.
"We are very close and stay in touch often," said Pete Abadie, 78.
The family now includes 10 grandchildren, ages 5 to 27.
"We [Pete and his wife, Peggy] just attended graduation ceremonies on consecutive Fridays – for a grandchild at the University of Texas at Austin and a grandchild at Texas A&M University," he said.
Originally from Louisiana, the couple moved to Irving from Houston in 1961.
The city has seen many changes since then. Yet Mr. Abadie still likes Irving.
"I don't approve of everything, but I am happy living here. I feel like a Texan," he said. "Some friends asked us why we didn't retire to Louisiana, but being near family is important."
His son and grandson give the same reason for living here.
"We wanted to be near our relatives and have the grandkids see their grandparents," said Jim Abadie.
His three children went to Turner High in Carrollton, as did his wife, Margie, who graduated with the Class of 1967. That is the same year he graduated from MacArthur High in Irving as part of the school's first graduating class.
After high school, he earned a bachelor's degree from North Texas State University, "not the University of North Texas," he adds, to honor the former name.
Immediately after graduating, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant for active duty. He and his wife traveled around the states and to Germany before coming home in 1991.
His oldest son, Wesley, lives in Las Vegas and works as a flight surgeon for the Air Force. His daughter, Allison, lives in Austin and just graduated from UT.
Tony, his middle son, started the family's fourth generation with a son born in April 2004.
"We were in San Antonio, nearing the end of my Army service, when we had Guerin," Tony Abadie said.
There was no doubt where they would settle down. They moved to Carrollton in August.
"We wanted to be near family," he said.
They can only hope that Guerin feels the same way when he grows up and starts the family's fifth generation.
Irving: Patriarch shares holiday honors with nearby son, grandson
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Father's Day is special for Irving resident Pete Abadie. The holiday gives him a chance to relish having family nearby. His son, grandson and great-grandson live only a few miles away in Carrollton.
The Abadie family is one of many in the older communities of Carrollton and Irving that keeps family ties strong. They know they're lucky to have four generations in the area, especially in today's mobile society.
Mr. Abadie said his three daughters live in Houston, and another son lives in Cedar Park.
But his oldest son, Jim Abadie, 55, settled in Carrollton to teach after a 20-year career in the Air Force. Jim's son, Tony Abadie, 25, also lives in Carrollton and is the proud father of the extended family's only great-grandchild, 1-year-old Guerin.
"We are very close and stay in touch often," said Pete Abadie, 78.
The family now includes 10 grandchildren, ages 5 to 27.
"We [Pete and his wife, Peggy] just attended graduation ceremonies on consecutive Fridays – for a grandchild at the University of Texas at Austin and a grandchild at Texas A&M University," he said.
Originally from Louisiana, the couple moved to Irving from Houston in 1961.
The city has seen many changes since then. Yet Mr. Abadie still likes Irving.
"I don't approve of everything, but I am happy living here. I feel like a Texan," he said. "Some friends asked us why we didn't retire to Louisiana, but being near family is important."
His son and grandson give the same reason for living here.
"We wanted to be near our relatives and have the grandkids see their grandparents," said Jim Abadie.
His three children went to Turner High in Carrollton, as did his wife, Margie, who graduated with the Class of 1967. That is the same year he graduated from MacArthur High in Irving as part of the school's first graduating class.
After high school, he earned a bachelor's degree from North Texas State University, "not the University of North Texas," he adds, to honor the former name.
Immediately after graduating, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant for active duty. He and his wife traveled around the states and to Germany before coming home in 1991.
His oldest son, Wesley, lives in Las Vegas and works as a flight surgeon for the Air Force. His daughter, Allison, lives in Austin and just graduated from UT.
Tony, his middle son, started the family's fourth generation with a son born in April 2004.
"We were in San Antonio, nearing the end of my Army service, when we had Guerin," Tony Abadie said.
There was no doubt where they would settle down. They moved to Carrollton in August.
"We wanted to be near family," he said.
They can only hope that Guerin feels the same way when he grows up and starts the family's fifth generation.
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TexasStooge
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About Town: School official hits high note with award from band
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Buzzy Green appreciates good music.
So it's only fitting that the man – more formally known as Dr. Alfred N. Green in his role as director of fine arts for the Irving school district – was awarded the Robert J. Brule Wagoneer Award for his generous support of the Irving Symphonic Band.
"He has been instrumental in making our concert season possible," said Lola Brown, Irving Symphonic Band president.
The award is named after the band's former director, who died in March 2004 at age 63.
"Not only was he a colorful personality, he was a man who loved music and people and gave all he could to the cause of the Irving Symphonic Band," said Dr. Green, who knew Mr. Brule for about 20 years. "It is still a proud reflection of him, the man who directed its progress through many years."
Dr. Green said he especially appreciates adult bands, orchestras and choirs because they are "where the fruit of all of our labors [in the schools] really shines through. They are the ultimate in music education."
With his encouragement, some district students may one day be members of those great ensembles.
Opera singer returns
Back in her days at Nimitz High School, Marianne Cope made all-state soprano for two years. She pursued her love of music at Indiana University and earned a master's degree from the University of North Texas.
Now she is an opera singer living in New York City.
The native Texan is returning home to debut in The Living Opera's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni today and Saturday at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. She will play the role of Donna Anna and will sing in Italian.
Ms. Cope has a long list of opera credits, including performances in Italy and at Carnegie Hall. Her recent awards include prizes from the 2005 Palm Beach Opera Competition, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
For performance information, visit http://www.thelivingopera.org.
Campers come home
Since 1960, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has been holding a free summer camp for children afflicted with the disease. Children journey to Camp John Marc in Meridian, Texas, for about a week of activities, such as swimming, fishing, horseback riding, and arts and crafts. The theme this year was Hard Rock, which focused on the role of music in young people's lives.
Five students from Irving attended this year. They are Danae Blessings, 14; Jason Duncan, 20; Jonathan Flores, 14; Andrew Nguyen, 12; and Michael Pope, 14. A return party for the campers is at 1:30 p.m. today at Reverchon Park in Dallas.
Teaching conference
About 250 teachers became students this week at Coppell High School.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the Coppell district offered an academic conference with a wide array of sessions on instructional strategies for all levels of teachers.
Shannon Buerk, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, taught a session on "Brain-based Lessons" to help teachers meet the needs of all students. Other workshops were more basic, such as "Handwriting without Tears" and "Science for all Learners."
"This is the second year we have done this, and we have had good participation," said staff development director Kayla Caraway, who organized the conference.
An outstanding grad
He didn't move far away, but he moved along in his career.
Doug Stover, a 1977 graduate of MacArthur High School, is now the mayor of Coppell and a director for Electronic Data Systems.
For his accomplishments and community service, the Irving school district's public information staff named him an "Outstanding Graduate."
Mr. Stover said he was thrilled about the honor.
"MacArthur High gave me so much. Not only was it a great educational experience, but the faculty and administration steered me away from the troubled path I was traveling down," he said. "And it is where I met my wonderful wife."
Lee Barton Stover, also a MacArthur graduate, is a former MacArthur math teacher. She now teaches at North Lake College in Irving.
At MacArthur, Mr. Stover was vice president of the student council and was named Mr. MacArthur High School his senior year. He became Coppell's mayor in 2003 after serving as a City Council member and mayor pro tem. He has served as the director of the Coppell ISD Education Foundation and the American Red Cross of North Texas. He volunteers throughout the community and was named Junior Achievement National Volunteer of the Year in 2000. He has taught Junior Achievement programs for 20 years.
Coppell may be happy to have him, but Irving is proud to have him as an alum.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONGRATS, MY BUDDY, JASON DUNCAN!
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Buzzy Green appreciates good music.
So it's only fitting that the man – more formally known as Dr. Alfred N. Green in his role as director of fine arts for the Irving school district – was awarded the Robert J. Brule Wagoneer Award for his generous support of the Irving Symphonic Band.
"He has been instrumental in making our concert season possible," said Lola Brown, Irving Symphonic Band president.
The award is named after the band's former director, who died in March 2004 at age 63.
"Not only was he a colorful personality, he was a man who loved music and people and gave all he could to the cause of the Irving Symphonic Band," said Dr. Green, who knew Mr. Brule for about 20 years. "It is still a proud reflection of him, the man who directed its progress through many years."
Dr. Green said he especially appreciates adult bands, orchestras and choirs because they are "where the fruit of all of our labors [in the schools] really shines through. They are the ultimate in music education."
With his encouragement, some district students may one day be members of those great ensembles.
Opera singer returns
Back in her days at Nimitz High School, Marianne Cope made all-state soprano for two years. She pursued her love of music at Indiana University and earned a master's degree from the University of North Texas.
Now she is an opera singer living in New York City.
The native Texan is returning home to debut in The Living Opera's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni today and Saturday at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. She will play the role of Donna Anna and will sing in Italian.
Ms. Cope has a long list of opera credits, including performances in Italy and at Carnegie Hall. Her recent awards include prizes from the 2005 Palm Beach Opera Competition, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
For performance information, visit http://www.thelivingopera.org.
Campers come home
Since 1960, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has been holding a free summer camp for children afflicted with the disease. Children journey to Camp John Marc in Meridian, Texas, for about a week of activities, such as swimming, fishing, horseback riding, and arts and crafts. The theme this year was Hard Rock, which focused on the role of music in young people's lives.
Five students from Irving attended this year. They are Danae Blessings, 14; Jason Duncan, 20; Jonathan Flores, 14; Andrew Nguyen, 12; and Michael Pope, 14. A return party for the campers is at 1:30 p.m. today at Reverchon Park in Dallas.
Teaching conference
About 250 teachers became students this week at Coppell High School.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the Coppell district offered an academic conference with a wide array of sessions on instructional strategies for all levels of teachers.
Shannon Buerk, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, taught a session on "Brain-based Lessons" to help teachers meet the needs of all students. Other workshops were more basic, such as "Handwriting without Tears" and "Science for all Learners."
"This is the second year we have done this, and we have had good participation," said staff development director Kayla Caraway, who organized the conference.
An outstanding grad
He didn't move far away, but he moved along in his career.
Doug Stover, a 1977 graduate of MacArthur High School, is now the mayor of Coppell and a director for Electronic Data Systems.
For his accomplishments and community service, the Irving school district's public information staff named him an "Outstanding Graduate."
Mr. Stover said he was thrilled about the honor.
"MacArthur High gave me so much. Not only was it a great educational experience, but the faculty and administration steered me away from the troubled path I was traveling down," he said. "And it is where I met my wonderful wife."
Lee Barton Stover, also a MacArthur graduate, is a former MacArthur math teacher. She now teaches at North Lake College in Irving.
At MacArthur, Mr. Stover was vice president of the student council and was named Mr. MacArthur High School his senior year. He became Coppell's mayor in 2003 after serving as a City Council member and mayor pro tem. He has served as the director of the Coppell ISD Education Foundation and the American Red Cross of North Texas. He volunteers throughout the community and was named Junior Achievement National Volunteer of the Year in 2000. He has taught Junior Achievement programs for 20 years.
Coppell may be happy to have him, but Irving is proud to have him as an alum.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONGRATS, MY BUDDY, JASON DUNCAN!
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TexasStooge
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BREAKING NEWS: Fort Worth holdup suspects dressed as police
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three men dressed as police officers held up a Fort Worth bank Monday morning.
Employees at the Bank One branch at Ramey Avenue and Loop 820 told investigators that the men—wearing black clothing with "police" and "task force" lettering on their shirts—entered the building and demanded cash.
One of the holdup men fired a handgun and hit a television monitor.
The suspects were last seen speeding away northbound on Loop 820 in a gold Toyota Camry.
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three men dressed as police officers held up a Fort Worth bank Monday morning.
Employees at the Bank One branch at Ramey Avenue and Loop 820 told investigators that the men—wearing black clothing with "police" and "task force" lettering on their shirts—entered the building and demanded cash.
One of the holdup men fired a handgun and hit a television monitor.
The suspects were last seen speeding away northbound on Loop 820 in a gold Toyota Camry.
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