News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Frisco accident leaves 1 dead

FRISCO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - One man died Tuesday morning after an accident in a roadway construction zone in Frisco.

Police said Forney resident Michael Wayne Wilson, 38, was traveling north on Dallas Parkway near Main Street when his Chevrolet truck crossed over into an opposing lane of traffic and hit a dump truck.

Wilson was taken to Baylor Medical Center, where he died.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine what caused Wilson's vehicle to veer into oncoming traffic.


WFAA ABC 8
Rescuers had to remove the truck's roof to extricate the victim.

[TexasStooge]

Man on trial for driving into officer

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

BEDFORD, Texas - Jurors heard two 911 calls today in the trial of a Bedford man accused of driving drunk and plowing his car into an on-duty Grapevine police officer.

Darren Medlin, 34, was struck and killed June 12, 2004, by a southbound vehicle on State Highway 121 near Mid-Cities Boulevard.

Roy Alvin Adams, 28, is on trial in Tarrant County District Court on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

Adams made the first emergency call telling a dispatcher that he had hit a car parked on the side of the road.

“I’m on the grass or something,” he said. “I hope I didn’t hit nobody.”

Prosecutors said Officer Medlin had pulled over another motorist for a traffic violation.

Jurors in the courtroom of state district Judge George Gallagher also heard from a passing motorist who said he saw a car driving too closely to the officer’s car.

If convicted, Adams faces up to 20 years in prison.

[TexasStooge]

Derailment causes evacuations in downtown Abilene

ABILENE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A derailment Tuesday morning in downtown Abilene left two cars overturned and forced the evacuation of some homes and businesses for several hours.

Nobody was hurt.

Abilene officials said a tanker hauling a flammable substance was involved in the accident, but it did not leak.

Abilene spokeswoman Pam Percival said the accident around dawn involved two cars of a Union Pacific freight train.

Percival said one car was hauling a low-grade fertilizer, but the second car was hauling liquid ethylene, which can be flammable.

UP crews uprighted the two cars and worked to move them to a safer location.

[TexasStooge]

Pool burglary suspects seen on tape

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas - Garland and Dallas police are investigating a string of burglaries at public pools - but a major clue now provides officials with the faces of two suspects at one crime scene.

The heat has made pools a popular cooling spot this summer for families, but it drew others as well. Two men used bolt cutters, a sledgehammer and a drill to force their way in - though they didn't cover their tracks as well as they thought.

The suspects had nowhere to run when they came face to face with a surveillance camera mounted inside the Surf-N-Swim office.

A VCR connected to a television monitor recorded their every move.

"They found the videotape," said Garland police spokesman Joe Harn. "They had to break into that case, to the video recorder, and they tried to destroy the tape."

The suspects believed they got away with an entire safe full of hundreds of dollars and other equipement, but they never counted on the Garland Police forensics team.

"I think they thought they felt like they had destroyed it enough that the tape could not be used, when in effect it could," said Harn.

Though the video was damaged, forensic officers salvaged a portion of the tape that clearly shows the two men during the break-in. Police were able to zoom in to get a clear picture of both faces.

"We were able to put it back and recover enough to see what they were doing, and hopefully identify them," Harn said.

Investigators believe the two men are connected to 12 break-ins at public pools in Garland and Dallas. In most, the suspects target the safe where money from concessions and admissions is locked.

"I'm actually very hopeful that these individuals will be caught," said Wally Bohannan of Garland's Parks and Recreation Department.

[TexasStooge]

House rejects school finance measure

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - The Texas House, after rancorous debate and major changes to a multibillion-dollar school funding bill, voted down the measure Tuesday.

Although the move appeared to spell trouble for the special legislative session called by Republican Gov. Rick Perry, another school spending bill remained pending in the Senate.

The 79-62 vote against the Republican-backed House bill came after the House approved a Democrat's plan to provide an additional $3.8 billion over two years to schools, including money for a teacher pay raise and more bilingual education funding.

That was substantially more money than the Republican measure included. Democrats and some Republicans joined to approve the amendment by Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Kent Grusendorf of Arlington, later led the charge to vote against the bill because it had so dramatically changed from its original form and would have cost much more money. Grusendorf said it would have hurt the Texas economy.

An accompanying property tax reduction bill was still being debated in the House.

Grusendorf said his education spending plan would pump $2.4 billion more into schools. That proposal reflected a House-Senate compromise hammered out in the last 30-day special session. It would have provided pay raises for teachers, set a mandatory school start date on the Tuesday after Labor Day and call for school board elections in November.

"Here we go again," Grusendorf said, introducing his bill at the start of the debate. "We've been working on this project for about the past 26 months."

Democrats had criticized his proposed new funding mechanism as one that widens the gap between the extremely wealthy school districts and the rest of the districts in Texas.

Texas is under court pressure to change its $33 billion school funding system, known to some as Robin Hood because it takes money from wealthy districts and shares it with poorer ones.

A state district judge last year declared the Texas system inadequate and unconstitutional. The state appealed that decision to the Texas Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in the coming weeks and months.

This is the fifth session, counting regular and special sessions, in which the Legislature as tried to tackle school finance.

Perry called the latest special session, which started Thursday, after the previous 30-day session ended in failure Wednesday night.

Republican legislative leaders said they wanted to move quickly in the new session, but this week hasn't gone as planned.

On Monday, the Senate had been expected to vote on its version of a school funding bill, but that was postponed until later in the week after some senators said they had worries about it.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth businesses vow fight against Trinity plan

By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Tuesday marks the first of two important nights for what is perhaps the biggest urban revitalization project ever in Fort Worth.

Each night offers meetings where public comment will begin on the Trinity Uptown Project. If developed, it would transform 800 acres of what some see as under-utilized land into a new riverfront urban village with a town lake.

Though backers say the plan will help control possible flooding, opponents say it's turned into a major land grab.

Charles Williams sells real military products at Omaha, his longtime store on White Settlement Road near the river northwest of downtown.

"I've yet to see anyone for eminent domain," Williams said.

Williams has become something of a soldier himself, in an army of small business owners waging war against the government that wants their land for a new flood control plan.

"What could I lose? 42 years of hard work," Williams said. "We will not be compensated in full value for what we have here."

Omaha and 85 other small businesses could be torn down for a bypass channel, new roads and bridges.

"Last flood I saw (was) as a child - I was 9 years old - in 1949," Williams said.

But others see the positives: a river minus the levee that has long acted as a barrier. Trinity Uptown is a concept of a new riverfront urban community with homes, businesses and schools.

"We want our rivers to be rivers too," said Becky Griffith of the Army Corps of Engineers. "We want flood damage reduction, but we want quality of life and green space - and we want people to be able to access that and enjoy it."

[TexasStooge]

Truck wreck shuts U.S. 75 in McKinney

McKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A two-vehicle wreck north of McKinney blocked U.S. Highway 75 during morning rush hour on Wednesday.

One of the trucks involved in the crash—a tractor-trailer—careened off a bridge. The cab landed in a creek bed below; half of the trailer was left balancing precariously over the edge.

Police said the driver of the 18-wheeler apparently lost control. Road surfaces were wet with overnight rain.

Aerial views showed that a pickup truck was also involved in the wreck.

There was no information available about any injuries to the drivers of passengers of either vehicle.

All southbound traffic on Highway 75 was diverted north of the accident scene. Northbound traffic was also affected, although at least one lane remained open.

[TexasStooge]

Fake officers invade home of man in FBI probe

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DESOTO, Texas - A security camera caught images of a trio of men who invaded the DeSoto home of Darren Reagan, who has a focus of recent FBI investigations into corruption at Dallas City Hall.

The camera captured the suspects as they drove up late Tuesday morning in a white Ford Crown Victoria, a vehicle that looks similar to an unmarked police car. The three men were armed with automatic pistols and wearing T-shirts marked "Police."

However, Dallas officers said the men were fakes.

The house, which Reagan co-owns, might have been an easy target for the men because of a previous search last month. Reagan, a civil rights activist with the Black State Employees Association of Texas, had his office in an Oak Cliff high-rise searched last month as part of the FBI corruption probe in Dallas.

Items, including a $450,000 check that was turned over to a bankruptcy court, were seized in the raid of his office.

So when Reagan and two others were handcuffed while their house was ransacked, it wasn't hard for them to believe the men who knocked at the door were real officers. However, one of the owners questioned the so-called officers.

"One of the owners became suspicious and said so," said Capt. Ron Smith with the DeSoto Police Department. "He said he didn't think they were real police and they pointed weapons at him and told him to sit down."

Police reported items valued at $3,000 were stolen, including a handgun.

"The house had been disheveled," Smith said. "They had gone through drawers looking for things. For one thing, they took two safes."

While real detectives were still on the scene investigating, other DeSoto officers pulled over a white Crown Victoria just a few blocks away, but the driver was not connected to the crime and neither was his car.

"It used to belong to another agency in Tarrant County," said LT. C M Cobb with the DeSoto Police Department. "They auction off their cars, and where they go after that they are free game."

Reagan declined requests for an interview, but said he thought this was a problem that involved someone in his neighborhood.

Reagan was never called a target in the corruption case and agents never raided his home.

This isn't the only report of men posing as officers in the last month. Last week, an alleged rapist dressed as a police officer sexually assaulted a Mesquite woman.

One week earlier, an Arlington woman claimed to have escaped a phony cop. Her claims, however, are now being questioned.

The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Woman's body found burning identified

GAINSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Authorities in Cooke County said they identified a woman whose body was found burning on Friday. Dr. Deborah Houchin, 56, was a physical therapist in Tarrant County.

The cause of her death has not been released, but it has been ruled a homicide. Police found her home in a disarray.

Saturday, News 8 aired pictures of jewelry found on the victim's body and her co-workers contacted police after she failed to show for work. They said they recognized the broadcasts of her ring and earring.

[TexasStooge]

Vendors donated $25,000 to Price

Trustee says contracts not aided; 1 of the 3 let tech chief use boat

By JESSICA LEEDER and PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - All of Dallas school trustee Ron Price's $25,000 in political donations last year came from three closely associated computer contractors, including the one who gave the district's top technology boss years' worth of free fishing trips and use of a yacht.

Mr. Price, who has played down the school official's sea trips, reported in a campaign filing that Frankie Wong, president and chief executive of Houston-based Micro System Enterprises, gave him $10,000 in October.

On the same day, Mr. Price got $10,000 from Larry Lehman of Giddings and $5,000 from Frank Trifilio of Houston, according to the filing.

Asked why he believed Mr. Wong and his business partners would make the donations, which are large by local school board standards, Mr. Price said Tuesday: "He's a great guy. I'm a good guy.

"I think Frankie Wong is a hell of a person," said Mr. Price, who was not up for re-election last year.

State corporation records show the three donors, in various combinations, run a web of interrelated computer companies.

Micro System is the head company in a consortium that is designated to receive more than 96 percent of federal technology grants DISD has applied for – $369 million in all. Mr. Trifilio also runs a member company in that group.

The donors did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

Among DISD trustees, Mr. Price has been outspoken in playing down revelations in The Dallas Morning News that Ruben Bohuchot, the district's associate superintendent over technology services, had regular use of a 59-foot yacht owned by Micro System.

In a TV interview last weekend, Mr. Price chalked the issue up to dirt being dispensed by vendors who competed with Micro System.

"This is a case of another vendor upset because they did not win the award," Mr. Price said. "They're upset about it and want to strike back at individuals by putting stuff out in the media."

District spokesman Donald Claxton said officials have started a preliminary investigation into Mr. Bohuchot's activities. Mr. Bohuchot has acknowledged taking trips on the boat but denies wrongdoing.

Price's chairmanship

Until May, Mr. Price was chairman of the trustees' business briefing panel, which considers technology and other contracts before they are reviewed and voted upon by the entire school board.

Mr. Price said he could not recall whether his committee ever discussed contracts for Mr. Wong's company. And, he said, the committee he led did not have final control over who was awarded tech deals under the federal E-rate program, under which districts submit proposed contracts to be funded mainly with federal money.

"All you do is chair the meetings," Mr. Price said, adding that Mr. Wong's contributions had "zero" effect on the multimillion-dollar contracts Micro System has been awarded by the district.

Mr. Price said friends at the Houston Independent School District, including trustees, told him that individuals wanted to give to his campaign and that "people in Houston like what you're doing."

He declined to identify individuals in Houston but said: "You've gotta check out the Houston school board members. We get nothing compared to those guys."

Mr. Price said when the campaign money came to him last fall, he had scant knowledge of the men who provided the bankroll.

"I never met them," he said.

Mr. Price said he has since been introduced to Mr. Wong – at a fundraiser thrown for him by a Houston school trustee.

"I wanted to meet whoever helped my campaign," he said.

However, nine months after getting the money, Mr. Price said he still knows nothing about Mr. Trifilio or Mr. Lehman, nor of their business links to Mr. Wong.

Mr. Price said that before accepting the donations, he consulted a lawyer in Austin and the Texas Ethics Commission. He said he was told that as long as the donations were from individuals rather than companies, he could take them.

The largest recipient

The three donations put Mr. Price easily at the top of the list for trustee campaign contributions in 2004. Hollis Brashear pulled in the second-largest total, just over $18,000. No other trustee reported donations from Mr. Wong or his associates last year, according to documents on file at DISD.

Campaign reports show Mr. Price spent $7,500 that the men gave him on officeholder expenses, keeping $17,500 as cash on hand.

Trustee Jack Lowe said he has received campaign donations from people he didn't know in the past but mainly for small amounts: "Never anything near $25,000."

Mr. Lowe, the current business panel chairman, said he believed it would be difficult for a committee member to influence contracts.

"I'd be very disappointed. I don't believe that board members are swaying contracts."

[TexasStooge]

Man murdered near Oak Cliff home

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas police are searching for the person who reportedly killed a man near his home on Tuesday night.

Residents in the 300 block of North Madison Ave. in Oak Cliff said they heard gunshots around 11:30 p.m.

The victim's Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicle was found on the front lawn of a house with a bullet hole in the window.

Rene Ramos, 63, was lying on the pavement nearby with a wound to the head. He was rushed to Methodist Medical Center, where he later died.

Witnesses told police Ramos had been involved in an altercation with another man a short distance away prior to the shooting.

Neighbors said Ramos lived about one block away from where the incident happened.

Police said robbery or carjacking may have been a motive in the murder.

WFAA-TV and DallasNews.com staff writer Kimberly Durnan contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Mexican regional station tops area radio

Feat points to growing marketing clout of Hispanic listeners

By KATHERINE YUNG / The Dallas Morning News

For the first time, a Spanish-language radio station has reached the top of the charts in Dallas-Fort Worth.

KESS-FM (107.9) and its Mexican regional format ranked No. 1 in the latest Arbitron spring ratings, edging urban contemporary KKDA-FM (104.5) out of the top spot.

The milestone heralds a new era in Dallas radio, one where advertisers can no longer dismiss Spanish-language radio as simply a niche format, industry experts said.

"Hispanic radio is catering to exactly what Hispanic listeners want to hear and, hence, the numbers," said Betina Lewin, director of Hispanic marketing at Spanish Broadcasting System in New York. "It's not a fluke. It's only going to get better."

KESS-FM's rise to the top is just the latest evidence of the increasing market clout wielded by the fastest-growing demographic group in America.

KESS-FM owner Univisión Communications Inc. recently made U.S. broadcast history when its television network finished in first place in prime-time viewing among 18- to 34-year-olds during the last week of June, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Already, Spanish-language radio stations regularly rank in the top five in such cities as New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

And KESS-FM isn't the only local Spanish-language radio station to place in the top five.

KLNO-FM (94.1) ranked No. 5 in the latest Arbitron survey.

Though Spanish-language media have been around for years, to garner top ratings – the key metric used by advertisers and media buyers – is a relatively recent achievement. A fast-growing Hispanic population and increasingly sophisticated programming are fueling the surge, experts say.

The rising dominance of these stations is forcing advertisers still sitting on the sidelines to take notice.

"If you ignore the Hispanic population [in Dallas-Fort Worth], that's a million people you are not marketing to," said Scott Savage, general manager of Entravision Corp.'s three D-FW stations. "It's where all the growth is."

Radio stations around the country are continuing to switch to Hispanic programming, said Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIA Financial Network Inc., an advisory services firm serving the media and telecommunications industries.

"The success of Hispanic radio stations is widespread throughout the U.S.," he said. "They are growing in importance, and retailers and local merchants are all recognizing the importance of this demographic group."

At KESS-FM, also known as La Qué Buena, managers weren't surprised that their station became No. 1. Part of the Univisión Radio unit, the station has been steadily growing its market share, tying for second place in Arbitron's winter ratings.

"Dallas is one of the fastest-growing Hispanic markets in the country," said Frank Carter, vice president and general manager for Univisión's five radio stations in D-FW. He noted that the biggest school districts in the Dallas area are 50 percent or more Hispanic.

KESS-FM tries to compete by offering good music and a relevant and popular morning show on a consistent basis, he said. It hasn't spent more money on marketing even though it became part of Univisión after the media giant bought Dallas-based Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. in 2003.

"The challenge is to keep it fresh and to keep it relevant," Mr. Carter said, adding that he considers his competitors to be all radio stations, not just Hispanic ones.

KESS-FM's success "is being able to deliver a product that a lot of people can listen to for a long time," he said.
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Top 20 Area Radio Stations:

1. KESS 107.9 FM (Spanish)
2. KKDA K-104.5 FM (Urban)
3. KPLX 99.5FM The Wolf (Country)
4. KHKS 106.1 Kiss FM (Top 40/Pop/Rock/Urban)
5. KLNO 94.1 FM (Spanish)
6. WBAP News/Talk 820 AM (News Radio/Talk)
7. KSCS 96.3 FM (Country)
8. KLUV (K-Love) 98.7 FM (Oldies)
9. KDGE 102.1 FM The Edge (Alternative Rock)
10. KBFB 97.9 Tha Beat (Urban)
11. KLTY 94.9 FM (Christian)
12. KTCK 1310 AM The Ticket (Sports Radio)
13. KOAI Smooth Jazz 107.5 FM The Oasis (Jazz/Blues/Big Band)
13. KJKK 100.3 Jack FM (Variety) [TIE]
15. KZPS 92.5 FM (Classic Rock)
15. KRLD NewsRadio 1080 AM (News Radio/Talk) [TIE]
17. KLLI Talk radio 105.3 FM
17. WRR Classical 101.1 FM (Classical) [TIE]
17. KVIL 103.7 FM (Adult Alternative/Easy Listening) [TIE]
20. KDMX Mix 102.9 FM (Adult Alternative/New Wave/Rock)

[TexasStooge]

2 women shot on Dallas street

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Two Dallas women were gunned down on the middle of a Dallas street this morning.

The shooting happened around 9 a.m. at the corner of Edgewood Street and South Ewing Avenue.

Police said the women and the suspect had an ongoing dispute; they argued before the suspect pulled out a gun and shot them. One was hit in the chest, and the other in the neck.

"It was just like out of Gunsmoke," said witness Toya Rice. "It didin't make any sense - it's crazy."

The victims are both in critical condition at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Police said the suspect abondoned her car and fled on foot before they caught her; she's now under arrest.

[TexasStooge]

Texas man sentenced for kiddie stuff

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A Harlingen man who hocked a computer full of child pornography must serve 25 years in federal prison.

Harlingen police began investigating 37-year-old Eugene Atwood after owners of a pawn shop reported he sold them a laptop computer full of child stuff.

A search of Atwood's residence turned up more than 8,000 images of child pornography, including several home videos. Investigators found evidence Atwood had traveled to several states to sexually assault and record at least three children.

Authorities also said Atwood contacted more than 200 other children over the Internet and recorded them with a web camera.

Atwood pleaded guilty March 31 to producing and receiving child pornography. He was sentenced Monday.

Atwood also must pay $2,000 in restitution to two victims.

[TexasStooge]

Photographer's death called senseless

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police are searching for a gunman who killed a Dallas businessman late Tuesday night during an attempted robbery.

For years, Rene Ramos owned his own photography studio in Oak Cliff, where he was well-known and well-liked.

Ramos, 63, made a living making people smile, taking thousands of pictures of brides and quinceaneras. But at his photography studio Wednesday, where there was usually so much laughter, there were only tears.

His family said they are outraged the beloved, gentle man was murdered in the 300 block of North Madison Avenue, just blocks from his home.

"It would make anybody angry," said the victim's son, L.A. Ramos. "(To) take the life of somebody that's not armed and can't defend themselves ..."

Dallas police said Ramos was driving home from a movie when a suspect blocked the road, forced Ramos to stop, demanded something at gunpoint - possibly his vehicle - and then fired several shots, killing him.

"He had a lot of people who loved him," Ramos' son said. "I don't know who would hate him."

Police said Ramos may have been a random victim. Some Oak Cliff business owners said they can't believe another prominent business owner was killed just blocks from home. In January Oscar Sanchez, the owner of popular restaurant El Ranchito, was kidnapped near his Oak Cliff home and later found dead.

"We did not used to see this in Dallas," said one of Ramos' neighbors. "I have been here on Jefferson (Boulevard) 20 years, and things like this didn't happen here."

Ramos' family said he was concerned about recent violence in the area, but they said he loved Oak Cliff and never wanted to leave.

[TexasStooge]

Biblical Arts fire caused by faulty wires

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Investigators said Wednesday determined the fire that engulfed the Biblical Arts Center last month started within electrical wires located above a storage area of the building.

The June 29 blaze destroyed much of the building – at 7500 Park Lane in Dallas – and its prized painting, the Miracle of Pentecost. The center also housed various pieces of artwork on loan. Damages were estimated at $2 million.

Dallas artist Torger Thompson completed the Miracle at Pentecost painting in 1969.

Board members of the Miracle at Pentecost Foundation said they would like to rebuild the center and attempt to recreate the painting if they can get the funding.

[TexasStooge]

McDonald's robber attempts rape of employees

From KHOU CBS 11 of Houston

HOUSTON, Texas - Houston police are looking for a man they said tried to rob a McDonald's restaurant Wednesday morning.

Investigators said that after the man crawled through one of the restaurant's drive-through windows, he tried to break into the safe. And when he couldn't get it open, he then reportedly ordered two women working there out, took them to a nearby field and attempted to rape them.

That's when one of the women told police she ran away after which the suspect fled.

HPD officials said the man is 5 foot 11 inches, weighs approximately 180 pounds, had a blue bandana on his head and was wearing mostly blue clothing. Police also said he displayed a semi-automatic weapon.

[TexasStooge]

Furnishing madness: Ikea opens Aug. 3

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

FRISCO, Texas - For those in love with decorating, the furnishing madness begins next week. The new Ikea in Frisco will open its doors to the public Aug. 3. The store is 310,000 square feet - that is 60 percent bigger than the average Wal-Mart Super center. The store also created 500 new jobs in Frisco and is one of over 200 stores in 33 countries.

Located at the corner of State Highway 121 and the Dallas North Tollway, the Ikea has 52 different show rooms and four fully-furnished apartments to give shoppers an idea of how to decorate and what to buy.

Ikea employees said the store is out to change the way North Texans shop for their homes. In fact, they are so sure their store is unique and different from other stores, they said they don't even consider their competition to be competition.

Items within the store can either set you back only a few cents or up a few grand. The store is also child friendly with onsite childcare, play areas and a Swedish restaurant.

Employees also said the store offers everything for shoppers - including the kitchen sink.

"My living room, my dining room, my bedroom, my bathroom - everything in my house is Ikea," said Ikea employee Regina Smith.

Smith said Ikea inspires fierce loyalty for employees and its customers. One customer, who has never even stepped foot in one of the stores, has already showed signs of a devoted fan.

"I've heard of them, but I have never shopped at an Ikea store," said Victoria Carson.

Armed with a TV, fan and a chair, Carson has camped outside Ikea's doors since Monday. The first person inside the new store's doors will win a $2,500 Ikea shopping spree. However, she usually juggles five kids at her home and said she is confident she will be the one to win the prize.

"It is a vacation," she said. "I am not used to this. Usually I am doing 20-something loads of laundry and that many loads of dishes in a week. This is definitely a vacation."

Shopping at Ikea is a do-it-yourself process. There are maps that guide customers to where they need to go and a shopping list they fill out as they wander around the store. Customers also take everything home themselves and most everything requires customer assembly.

[TexasStooge]

Colleagues' probes identify missing woman

By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - Colleagues of a missing Arlington therapist put clues together to discover their friend was a murder victim. As a counselor, friends and family said Deborah Houchin, 56, had dedicated her life to helping others.

Her friends last saw her just before 11 p.m. Thursday in Arlington. Her burned body was found Friday morning in Cooke County. An autopsy revealed she died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Texas Rangers and the FBI searched Houchin's home Wednesday looking for clues in her death. Tuesday, colleagues launched an investigation of their own on their friend who was missing. Their work helped them discover the burned body was Houchin's and she had been murdered.

Friends said Houchin loved to travel, adored her dog and helped solve the problems of hundreds of patients.

"We're going to have a tough time filling those needs and her patients," said work colleague Amy Pinch. "We could never fill her shoes."

Colleagues and friends said they are wondering what happened between the times they last saw Houchin Thursday night and Friday morning when a Cooke County man found her burning body in a field.

"It's unbelievable because there was nothing wrong on Thursday night," said colleague Robert Mims.

Both Mims and Pinch said they talked to Houchin after work the counseling center where they work. When they both saw Houchin last was when they were leaving for home and she was preparing to go as well and by Monday, no one had seen or talked to the counselor.

"We all kind of pulled together as a team," Pinch said.

Colleagues prompted police to search the home and they found her dogs were alone and hungry. they also found her purse and a checkbook opened on the table.

Later, news reports of an unidentified body drove colleagues to piece together clues. They recognized jewelry that was aired on News 8.

"The dental records, Doctor Mims, my husband and I drove them immediately to Dallas," Pinch said. "I was personally committed to find where she was and we did that. I am even more vehemently committed to find who did this so they will get their just-do."

Rangers and FBI are still searching for clues at Houchin's home.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas ISD suspends tech chief

Inquiry will look into official's use of vendor's boat

By PETE SLOVER and JESSICA LEEDER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas schools technology boss who regularly took free trips on a major computer vendor's $789,000 sport-fishing boat was placed on administrative leave Wednesday so authorities can look into the details of his activities.

Ruben Bohuchot, a Dallas Independent School District associate superintendent, was suspended as of 5 p.m., which is "customary for investigations that we believe will take more than a few days to complete," district spokesman Donald Claxton said in an e-mail.

Mr. Bohuchot did not return a request for comment left on an answering machine at his home.

The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that Mr. Bohuchot took years' worth of expense-paid sea voyages on a 59-foot vessel owned by Micro System Enterprises, a company that has secured federally funded E-rate contracts with the school district since 2003 that potentially are worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr. Bohuchot told The News in an interview last week that the boat trips and his use of another vessel did not influence the contract process even though he wrote the specifications for jobs and negotiated the final terms after contracts were awarded.

However, Mr. Bohuchot's bosses, one of whom was present during the interview, said they hadn't heard about the gifts.

On Monday, school district officials launched a preliminary investigation into Mr. Bohuchot's conduct. During his suspension, Mr. Bohuchot, 56, will still collect his $143,492 salary and his $4,000 annual car allowance.

During his six-year career with the school district, Mr. Bohuchot has been the subject of two audits, including an investigation of his personal finances last year by outside consultants from KPMG. Mr. Bohuchot said he volunteered for the audit after he was anonymously accused of taking gifts and trips, including "a cruise," from vendors. The auditors, who were paid nearly $50,000, found no support for the whistle-blower's charges, district officials said.

Coast guard and boat title records show that the boats Sir Veza and Sir Veza II were purchased by Statewide Marketing LLC, a Delaware company. Although Delaware law allowed the company to keep private the names of its principals, other records obtained by The News showed Statewide Marketing was formed by officers of Micro System Enterprises, including president Frankie Wong.

During an interview last week, Mr. Bohuchot initially characterized his relationship with Mr. Wong as "a beer and lunch occasionally."

Confronted with evidence to the contrary, he conceded that:

•He used the boats "every five or six weeks," including trips with no Micro System executives present, and that he has been consulted by the yacht's skipper on operational questions.

•He and a Micro System vice president entered and won third place in the four-day Key West Marlin Tournament last year. The entry fees, paid by Mr. Wong, were at least $1,500.

•He accompanied Mr. Wong to Fort Lauderdale to pick out the new boat, and that he helped choose the names for both boats.