News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Leaders call on pupils to return to school

From The Dallas Morning News, Al Día, and Wire Reports

After thousands of North Texas students left classes for a second day in response to proposed legislation that would make it a felony to enter the country illegally or to help illegal immigrants, community leaders issued a plea Tuesday afternoon for the students to take more "constructive" action.

In a quickly-arranged news conference in City Hall's Flag Room, the leaders talked about the need for students to end the walkouts, and gave several students the opportunity to speak about their feelings.

"The walkouts have been very effective, but it's time for everyone to go back to school and start writing letters and making phone calls to your senator or congressman," said Domingo Garcia, a Dallas lawyer and current National Civil Rights Chairman for LULAC.

Garcia said a civil rights march will be held in Dallas on April 9, and encouraged students and others who felt strongly about the issue to plan on taking part in that event rather than missing additional classes.

"Tomorrow, it is very possible that students will begin to be arrested for truancy," said Dallas County Community College trustee Diana Flores. "We want everyone to be heard, but there is a time and a place to do it."

"Our biggest concern today was your safety," said Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia in her comments directed at student protesters. "We cannot risk our future, and that's why it is time to handle this matter in a different way."

At least one girl was seriously injured in what was a second day of protests by North Texas students.

Witnesses said an 18-year-old female Spruce High School student's hand was severed when a van of students in which she was riding rolled over at an intersection.

Students from Irving ISD streamed from DART trains at about 10:30 Tuesday morning and marched up Young Street toward City Hall, whooping and hollering, some waving the Mexican flag. Students from Fort Worth and Grand Prairie also walked out of class in protest.

The reflecting pond in front of City Hall became a swimming pool for dozens of young people as the protest continued. At least two students were injured in the water and were taken to hospitals for treatment.

At one point, about 100 students surged into City Hall and got as far as the fifth floor before being escorted back outside by security officers.

For the most part, the protest—involving an estimated 2,500 young people at its peak—was peaceful.

Kerry Vargas, 14, from The Academy at Irving ISD, and Sean Wilder, 17, from MacArthur High School were waving a flag from Costa Rica, where their families came from.

"I have people in my family who are here illegally," Sean said. "I don't want to see them put away in jail."

Kerry said some kids were going through school, saying "Latinos, stand up," prompting them to leave class. "My family came here and worked really hard," Kerry said. "America isn't just one race. They shouldn't do this to us because we are a large part of the economy."

She said she knew a lot of kids were running around not sure what they were protesting.

One poster said: "Terrorists are coming in from Canada, not Mexico."

German Escobar, 16, from MacArthur High School, said students walked outside the school before heading to Dallas. One cop threatened to ticket everyone, but there were too many kids, he said. German said his parents are from Mexico and El Salvador and got their immigration papers back in the 1990s. "We've got to help the rest of the people get them," he said.

The protest at City Hall appeared to be dissipating shortly after noon, and students were walking toward the DART station at Union Station. School buses were also being assembled to shuttle young people back to their campuses.

Grand Prairie students rally in Dallas

Dallas Police Deputy Chief Vincent Golbeck said 500 to 600 students from Grand Prairie showed up at Kiest Park and stayed for about two hours. About 40 officers were on hand, some of them blocking the park entrances so that they could keep the neighborhood safe and keep the situation from getting out of hand. Officers kept a low profile and let kids know they couldn't be disorderly or break the law. No property damage was reported. The students should get a blue ribbon for their behavior, Chief Golbeck said. They just wanted to send a message, he said.

One woman who was protesting against the students was asked to leave for safety reasons, and she did, police said.

He said Dallas school officials had a good plan for protesters on Monday, so police called Grand Prairie officials and had administrators and buses show up. Students loaded up onto about 14 buses and were gone by about 1:30 p.m. Chief Golbeck said police planned to stay at the park for awhile. They got word that about 60 students from Carter High School in Dallas were on their way this afternoon.

Students at the park said teachers didn't try to stop them from walking out; they just told students to be careful and stay off the streets.

Maria Pererz, 14, from Quintanilla Middle School in Dallas, said, "We've been here for too long for them to kick us out."

Priscilla Hernandez, 14, from Quintanilla Middle School, said, "We have family from Mexico and from here, and we are trying to stop the law from passing."

Hundreds of students in Fort Worth gathered near Sundance Square downtown for what was reported to be a mostly peaceful rally.

Protests are widespread

Tuesday's walkouts continued the protests that began late last week in California in response to proposed legislation that would make it a felony to enter the country illegally or to help illegal immigrants.

Dallas Independent School District spokesman Donald Claxton said the district can do little to keep students in class, but it is watching the walkouts as best it can to keep kids safe. He cited Tuesday's accident as an example that "it's getting dangerous (and) people are starting to suffer consequences."

"We've got numerous officers out, trying to keep the kids safe,” he said.

DISD students who are out of class today will be marked with an unexcused absence, Mr. Claxton said. Students who accumulate too many unexcused absences in a semester can have their privileges limited or face truancy hearings.

The full U.S. Senate is preparing to debate a measure passed Monday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It would give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he hopes the Senate will pass an immigration reform bill by April 7. However, any bill produced by the Senate would have to be reconciled with a House bill that would make illegal immigrant felons.

Dallas Morning News staff writers Kent Fischer, Valerie Wigglesworth, Ray Leszcynski and Alan Melson, WFAA ABC 8 reporters Debbie Denmon, Karin Kelly, Chris Heinbaugh, Jeff Brady, Janet St. James and Walt Zwirko, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


WFAA ABC 8
Some protesters jumped in the City Hall reflecting pond.


JOANNA JEMISON / Dallas Morning News
Students walked along Young Street downtown in front of waiting traffic.

[TexasStooge]

City struggles to collect unpaid bills

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Last year, News 8 disclosed that the city had filed liens against two Dallas City Council members for long overdue property cleanup bills.

But they weren't alone.

The city has filed thousands of liens for unpaid bills, trying to collect millions of dollars. Some say the city needs to do more.

When city crews have to demolish a house or clean up a yard, the property owner gets a bill from the City of Dallas.

But News 8 obtained a database showing that tens of thousands of those bills—totaling almost $35 million—have not been paid.

"Obviously, the city tries to collect on all its debt," said Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Richie.

Eric Farrington is one man who owes the city plenty.

Farrington is a self-made millionaire who sells his wealth-building ideas to others. He has an office in Turtle Creek and an $800,000 home in a gated community.

But his company also owns a now-vacant property in Oak Cliff.

It once was home to an apartment complex that became so filthy and uninhabitable that the city tore it down.

With interest and penalties, Farrington owes the city $47,000, but he hasn't paid up.

Farrington's phone was disconnected, and he recently filed for bankruptcy.

Owners who disregard their property frequently disregard bills, too. "That's the very nature of this kind of property owner," Richie said. "They made a decsion that it wasn't worth their while, and so it's going to be hard to collect from this kind of property owner."

Some people want the city to be more aggressive, especially with the thousands of "low dollar" liens on the books.

"Those thousands—times $200 or $300—adds up to millions of dollars," said Dallas City Council member Mitchell Rasansky. "And millions of dollars can hire a number of police officers."

In 2001, city code officials told Southwest Airlines to mow overgrown weeds on several company properties near Love Field.

The airline disputed the order, then thought the issue was dropped because they had heard nothing further.

The city sent Southweset a $1,600 bill.

"We did talk to someone at the city, try to get it resolved, sent them the information showing them we didn't owe the money," said Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart. "Of course, it had been a while—years since we'd heard from them again."

The airline and the city are again fighting it out.

"You should never let sit anybody who owes you money," Rasansky advised.

But when News 8 reviewed the files at the city code office, we learned it's not always that simple.

Take the case of Town Plaza Apartments in South Oak Cliff. For years it was a magnet for filth, fires and crime.

"The city felt it was necessary to go ahead and demolish the property," Richie said.

The demolition project cost $1.2 million including interest and penalties, the biggest unpaid bill on the city's books.

The property's owner, a Lewisville firm called WAK T PRO, has yet to pay.

Because the property is valued at only $179,000, the million dollar demolition bill will likely never get paid.

Next year, the city will try trying something new: putting all outstanding liens, fines and bills owed to the city on the water bill.

It will become a monthly reminder to scofflaws that the city knows where they are—and that it expects to be paid.

[TexasStooge]

Fire damages TCU Bookstore

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — Firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze at the TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore near the shcool's campus overnight.

The fire was reported about 2 a.m. inside the store at South University Drive and West Berry Street.

Firefighters had their hands full keeping the flames from spreading to adjoining structures.

At one point, firefighters were forced to scramble as the roof of the bookstore began to collapse. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.

The building, which was built in 1950, was being remodeled, and there was no merchandise inside when the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. Officials said the 17,000 square foot building appeared to be a total loss.

The bookstore will continue to operate from its temporary facilities in a portable building in the parking lot. It was closed on Wednesday, however, due to a power failure associated with the fire. School officials also said traffic in the immediate vicinity could be impacted due to power-related traffic light failures.

"The bookstore is a well-recognized campus landmark," TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. said in a statement. "This a very unfortunate incident, but we are pleased that all of the merchandise had previously been removed from the bookstore and that our students can continue to shop in the temporary modules."

The TCU Bookstore building was originally a Safeway supermarket. It was converted to a Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1997.

[TexasStooge]

Ex-officer indicted for sexual assault

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A former Fort Worth police officer accused of getting a 14-year-old girl pregnant has been indicted for sexual assault.

Casey Allen Roe, 23, allegedly plied the girl with alcohol and had frequent sex with her last summer.

The teen told officials that Roe was aware of her age. She said he told her he could go to jail if she said anything to anyone.

Roe was freed on bail.

He faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted.

[TexasStooge]

As protests continue, police round up students

From WFAA ABC 8 and The Dallas Morning News Staff

Small groups of students took to the streets for a third day on Wednesday to oppose immigration reform but in many cases, they were rounded up by police, and returned to school.

In Coppell, police forced around 20 Hispanic student protestors into squad cars and reportedly arrested one pupil.

In Garland, police are on their way to Main Street to round up student protestors.

Students in Fort Worth are marching towards the city hall, where police have secured all entrances.

The pupils are protesting against proposed legislation that would make it a felony to enter the country illegally or to help illegal immigrants.

Community leaders issued a plea on Tuesday for the students to return to school and to instead attend a civil rights march to be held in Dallas on April 9.

At least one girl was seriously injured in Monday's protests.

Witnesses said an 18-year-old female Spruce High School student's hand was severed when a van of students in which she was riding rolled over at an intersection.

Students from Irving ISD marched up Young Street toward City Hall, whooping and hollering, some waving the Mexican flag. Students from Fort Worth and Grand Prairie also walked out of class in protest.

The reflecting pond in front of City Hall became a swimming pool for dozens of young people as the protest continued. At least two students were injured in the water and were taken to hospitals for treatment.

On Monday, about 36,000 students from 25 Los Angeles County school districts walked out of class, with more than 1,000 protesting outside Los Angeles City Hall. Other protests were reported Tuesday in Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Detroit.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he hopes the Senate will pass the immigration reform bill by April 7. However, any bill produced by the Senate would have to be reconciled with a House bill that would make illegal immigrant felons.

Dallas Morning News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


WFAA ABC 8
Officials want to avoid Tuesday's mass protests.

[TexasStooge]

Sentencing for truck driver under way

By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News

SHERMAN, Texas – Testimony began today in a sentencing hearing for a truck driver who caused a traffic accident that killed 10 people.

Miroslaw Janusz Jozwiak, a Polish native who lived in Daytona Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty last week to 10 counts of manslaughter for the deaths, and two counts of aggravated assault for two survivors who were injured in the crash.

Attorneys on both sides agreed to allow a jury to determine Mr. Jozwiak’s punishment. A jury was selected Tuesday.

During opening statements, Grayson County Assistant District Attorney Kerry Ashmore told the jury to focus on the pain caused by the single act.

"The damage done in this case is just as important as all the evidence you hear," he said.

On Sept. 20, 2004, Mr. Jozwiak was traveling north on U.S. Highway 75 in Sherman, when his rig inexplicably crossed the grassy median and hurtled into a pickup truck carrying seven Dallas roofers ending a day of work, and a SUV with a family headed home after some early Christmas shopping.

Mr. Ashmore said many times victims don't have a voice, but in this case their families are speaking for them.

He said he hopes to prove that the 18-wheeler was a deadly weapon.

"As deadly as any weapon you want to imagine. As deadly as a knife, as deadly as a gun. My God, it's as deadly as a bomb," he said.

Defense attorney Bob Jarvis described the wreck as a "terrible accident."

He described Mr. Jozwiak as a hard working man trying to make a living, no different than the average person.

"He probably fell asleep, which is why he's here today."

Lisa Martin, 32; her mother, Betsy Wood, 70; and the Martins’ three sons, Chance, 4; Brock, 2; and Reid, 2 months, all died at the scene.

The victims in the pickup truck included: Hector Ruiz Zapata, 33, J. Marcos Esparza, 41; Manuel Esparza, 39; German Esparza, 19; and Joel Mendoza Ruiz, 36. Many of the men were related.

Mike Martin, Ms. Martin's husband also began testifying Wednesday morning, describing the day he last saw his family and recounted memories of his wife and children.

Mr. Jozwiak's sister and Lisa Martin's father, James Wood, are also expected to testify.

Mr. Jozwiak faces two to 20 years for each charge. Under an agreement, Mr. Jozwiak will serve the sentences concurrently.

He has remained in the Grayson County Jail since the accident, unable to pay the $2 million bail.

The sentencing hearing differs from the guilty phase of a criminal trial. Instead of solely considering the facts of the case, the defendant’s character and disposition are deliberated.

In his guilty plea, Mr. Jozwiak admitted to driving while “fatigued or sleepy,” talking on a phone and failing to maintain a single lane of traffic. The state agreed to drop language that accused Mr. Jozwiak of improper breaking and driving while under the influence of a drug.

Prosecutors had theorized that Mr. Jozwiak fell asleep or was under the influence of an anti-psychotic drug that was found in his briefcase, and test results showed was in his urine. But they faced difficulties proving he was under the influence of the drug at the time of the accident.

[TexasStooge]

Cargo rail line would link North Texas to border

By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas - State leaders plan to unveil a proposal Wednesday to build a new cargo rail line from North Texas to the U.S.-Mexican border.

The rail line, which would be the largest built anywhere in the United States in decades, would be part of the Trans-Texas Corridor project.

The Texas DOT has scheduled a noon news conference in Austin to announce the project's first bid -- from Cintra-Zachry, the private company that also wants to build the Trans-Texas Corridor project. The Transportation Department will solicit other bids.

North Texas leaders have expressed interest in getting a regional rail bypass that would keep cargo trains moving quickly through the area and free existing rail lines for possible passenger use.

[TexasStooge]

Man caught driving slaying victim's car set to die

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) - A former pizza delivery man with an extensive criminal record was headed to the Texas death chamber Wednesday for the robbery and slaying of a Houston-area man 13 years ago.

Kevin Kincy, 38, was on parole for delivery of cocaine when he was arrested in Louisiana following a police chase for the stabbing and shooting of Jerome Harville at his home outside Jacinto City.

Kincy, from Houston, would be the seventh convicted killer executed this year in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state. At least a dozen more inmates have death dates in the coming months, including three in April and five in May.

Kincy's lawyers, hoping to block the lethal injection, went to the U.S. Supreme Court with an appeal challenging the drugs used in the execution as unconstitutionally cruel. Similar appeals in recent Texas death penalty cases have failed to halt the executions.

"It's not very good," attorney Alex Calhoun said of his prospects. "The whole point of appeals is maybe there's that one case that catches the Supreme Court's attention."

Kincy had the attention of Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials, who scrapped media interviews with him last week after they said he threatened prison staff at the Polunsky Unit near Livingston, which includes death row.

Early Wednesday, Kincy spent time with his mother, Dorothy Robertson, before his transfer to the Huntsville Unit where executions are carried out.

It was the first time he had seen her since she was arrested last summer. Polk County authorities pulled her over after she left the prison and found about a pound of marijuana in her van. She contended she was duped by someone who disguised the package as a gift and the arrest was a continuation of harassment against her and her son.

Harville, the 31-year-old slaying victim, had worked for three years as an industrial hygienist at an Exxon refinery in Baytown and was the former boyfriend of Charlotte Kincy, the prisoner's cousin.

According to a witness at Kincy's trial, the cousins hatched a plan where Harville would be seduced and distracted by his old girlfriend, allowing Kevin Kincy to sneak into the home and shoot him.

Evidence showed that after Harville was shot, Charlotte Kincy stabbed him several times. The pair then ransacked his place and stole numerous items, including furniture and his car. Colleagues at Exxon became worried when Harville didn't show up for work and went to his house. When they saw it had been trashed, they called police, who found his body.

About two weeks later, an FBI agent ran the plates on a Honda Accord traveling about 100 mph on Interstate 10 east of Beaumont and determined it was Harville's stolen vehicle. The ensuing chase covered some 30 miles and ended in Westlake, La., with a flat tire after Kincy crashed through a police roadblock as officers fired at him.

Kincy denied any knowledge of the Harville killing, but items he threw out the window of the speeding car led police to his cousin, Charlotte. She pleaded to a 40-year prison term.

At the time of his arrest, Kincy was free on bond on a weapons charge. He also was on parole after a cocaine delivery conviction and had other convictions beginning at age 18 for marijuana possession, theft and burglary. During his time in prison, records showed he had more than 30 disciplinary violations.

"They can hang him," Hosea Harville, 83, of St. Louis, the murder victim's father, told the Houston Chronicle. "He killed a good man."

Next on the execution schedule is Pedro Sosa, set to die April 25 for the 1983 fatal shooting of a Wilson County sheriff's deputy.

[TexasStooge]

Perry, Sharp unveil school finance plan

AUSTIN, Texas (WFA ABC 8/AP) - Texas lawmakers will start next month's special session with a school funding proposal that Gov. Rick Perry says finally has "broken the code" of modernizing the state's antiquated tax structure.

If adopted, the plan would slash school property taxes by a third — $6 billion worth — for all Texas homeowners. That money would be replaced in the state's $33 billion public school budget with a new business tax, a $1-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax and $1 billion from a state budget surplus.

Perry announced the plan Wednesday and urged lawmakers to approve it.

"What we present to you today is what I believe is the best, fairest, most broad-based, comprehensive system to reduce property taxes that I have ever seen in 20 years that I've been around this process," said former state Comptroller John Sharp, who leads the Perry-appointed panel of business leaders who crafted the recommendations.

The recommendation will be a starting point when lawmakers convene April 17 for a 30-day special session to answer a court order to restructure the way K-12 schools are funded. It will be the fourth special session on the issue since 2004. Numerous school finance plans also have failed during the last two regular legislative sessions.

What's different this time is lawmakers are facing a June 1 deadline, mandated by the Texas Supreme Court, to fix the system the court ruled unconstitutional.

"My greatest hope in this is that for the next 50 days, politicians in Texas will set aside their personal and political goals on behalf of what the greater good of the state of Texas is about," Sharp said. "My greatest fear is that that won't happen."

Still, Republican Rep. Dan Branch of Highland Park warned, the plan is far from a sure deal.

"If people were handicapping it, it's more likely it wouldn't pass than it would pass," Branch said. "Once you get down to details, (new taxes) ultimately are very difficult to pass."

Branch said he's preparing an amendment to the proposed law that would prohibit future lawmakers from raising the business tax as a source of state money in tough budget years.

The plan's supporters hope replacing part of the property taxes and giving school districts more room to set their own rates will make the tax structure legal under the court ruling. If the system is not fixed by June 1, the court order forces the state to stop sending money to Texas' 1,037 school districts.

"If Texans want a fairer and broader business tax without loopholes, a stable source of revenue for our children's education and substantial property tax relief, then we've got a plan that works for them," Perry said.

Most of the proposed new tax money comes from a restructured business tax — a percentage of a company's gross receipts with deductions for either employee compensation or the cost of goods sold. That tax would generate an estimated $4 billion.

"It has the potential to be the most significant piece of legislation ... in Texas in the last few decades," said The cigarette tax would increase from 41 cents to $1.41, bringing about $800 million into state accounts.

All income groups of Texans who don't smoke would see tax relief, according to a bipartisan analysis by the Legislative Budget Board. Smokers in the poorest income group would probably see a slight increase in their tax burden.

"If we stop a substantial number of Texans from smoking, it's going to save this state so much money in the long term in the health and well being of this state, I'll take that," Perry said.

The richest Texans, those who make more than $104,865 a year, will see the biggest benefit from the cuts. The analysis shows a significant change from previous proposals that only gave tax relief to the richest Texans.

The commission will hold a hearing Friday at the Capitol to take public testimony on the proposal.

The bill is revenue-neutral, which means it swaps taxes without generating more money for schools.

"If a 92-page tax swap is a necessary prerequisite for accomplishing what the public really wants the Legislature to do, then we've completed it," said Donna New Haschke, president of the Texas State Teachers Association. "Now we must get started on the required course work for this session — providing additional funds to public schools so that they have the resources to fully fund existing proven programs, providing teachers with a pay raise, and providing smaller classes and up-to-date technology."

Perry has said he will not allow such school reforms to be considered during the session until the tax work has been finished and the court mandate has been met.

"It's time for Governor Perry to step up and pay attention to the educators and parents of Texas, who have called for property tax relief coupled with increased funding for school improvements," said Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Amber Moon.

[TexasStooge]

3rd day of protests generally quiet

Student groups rounded up by police, given truancy citations

From The Dallas Morning News Staff Reports

Small groups of students took to North Texas streets for a third day on Wednesday to speak out against proposed immigration reform, but in many cases they were rounded up by police and returned to school.

Nearly 60 Mesquite students drove in a caravan to Dallas City Hall with flags and colored face paint, only to receive written truancy citations and be escorted off the property.

John Horn High School student Juan Trevino, 16, said he and his classmates were embarrassed by Tuesday's protests at City Hall in which rowdy students stormed the lobby and splashed in the reflecting pool.

Trevino and the rest of the group decided to come down Wednesday to circulate petitions, and to protest respectfully. Instead, he said, they were written up, and forced to leave by police.

"All of our parents know we're here," he said. "We were more calm, more respectful than those other students - and we're getting issued tickets."

Dallas Police Sgt. R.G. Butler said the protesters hadn't been trouble, but "we're concerned about them being truants."

Butler said under state law, any Texas student who skips school can be ticketed, and must show up at court with a parent within 21 days and possibly pay a fine. He said those who weren't students were not issued citations.

In Coppell, police forced around 20 Hispanic student protesters into squad cars and reportedly arrested one pupil. More students were rounded up on Main Street in downtown Garland.

In Fort Worth, police secured all entrances at City Hall in advance of a group of students allegedly headed there to protest.

After Tuesday’s large protests, district and community leaders in Dallas were telling students enough was enough. DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa warned students that further protests could lead to in-school suspensions, parent conferences or even truancy arrests.

"We're telling them to stay in school," said Jesse Diaz, president of the Dallas United Latin American Citizens Council 4496. "It's very emotional, and their emotions are taking over. The kids are doing this on their own. There is no adult leadership."

He urged students passionate about the issue to join a community march scheduled for April 9.

Dallas Morning News staff writer Emily Ramshaw and WFAA ABC 8 contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Woman held captive, tortured 19 days

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Investigators said a woman was held captive by her ex-boyfriend for 19 days and tortured inside a home in the 5200 block of Miller Avenue.

Police called what happened to the Fort Worth woman extremely cruel and sadistic.

Lt. Gene Jones of the Fort Worth Police Department said the woman was burned with a blow torch and then Draino was poured on the wounds.

"I remember seeing at least two main burn areas on her back," Lt. Jones said. "...The violence and the degree of pain and torture, this is a very unusual case. It is generally something you see in a movie."

Lt. Jones described one of the burns as being the size of two large hands.

Robert Crew Stephenson was arrested Tuesday night. Police said he was the one who tortured the victim out of retaliation from a break-up.

Neighbors said they did not know anyone was inside the home, which police called extremely filthy.

The woman escaped the house while Stephenson was sleeping and took the keys to his truck to drive herself to the safety of a relative's home, police said.

Police have not released the identity of the woman and said she is still recovering from the incident.

[TexasStooge]

Two Beaumont students die in bus crash

By BRUCE NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News

HOUSTON, Texas – A charter bus carrying a Beaumont high school girls soccer team to a tournament skidded off a wet highway Wednesday afternoon and overturned, killing two students and injuring 20 others, school officials and state troopers said.

Jolene Ortego, spokeswoman for the Beaumont school district, said the students were from Beaumont West Brook High School.

The bus was chartered by the Beaumont district from Sun Travel Charter. It was westbound in the rain on U.S. 90, headed for a tournament in Humble, a north Houston suburb, and was about two miles east of Devers when an eastbound pickup pulling a trailer lost some of its load of insulation in front of the bus, officials said.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said the bus driver swerved to avoid debris and the bus overturned in a ditch, he said.

"There were no seat belts on the bus," Mr. Vinger said, but state law doesn't require them.

Both the driver of the pickup and the bus driver were being interviewed about speed and conditions, and the bus was being checked, Mr. Vinger said. "There was no indication of alcohol or drugs," he said.

The bus was carrying 22 students, a driver, a coach and a chaperone when it departed Beaumont, officials said. Ashley Brown and Alicia Bonura were pronounced dead at the scene.

Backpacks littered the ditch where the bus was overturned and motorists stopped to help and console students.

Eight seriously injured students were taken to the trauma center at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, where officials said they had no immediate information on their conditions.

Eleven girls and the coach were taken to Liberty-Dayton Hospital and all had been released by nightfall, school officials said. Two students were treated for minor cuts and bruises at Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital in Beaumont. A Baptist spokeswoman said one injured student's mother who went to the scene was examined for chest pains and released.

The identities of the fatalities were not released.

"It's a very tragic day for us," said Beaumont Superintendent Carrol Thomas.

Mr. Thomas said the district had dealt with Sun Travel for several years without incident.

A company out of Beaumont called Sun Travel Tours has a mixed safety rating, according to information posted on a federal bus and truck Web site.

A woman who answered the phone there declined to comment and would not confirm or deny whether the bus belonged to the company.

The driver safety record for Sun Travel Tours is considered in the bottom third of all bus and truck companies. But police have found serious enough violations to order a driver off the road only once in the nine times they've inspected it.

The company's last accident happened in June 2004 on a dark, rainy highway in Angelina County. One person was injured. Another vehicle was involved, and it's unclear which vehicle was at fault.

That is the only accident reported to federal regulators in the past 2 ½ years.

Its insurance is active, according to the Texas Department of Transportation Web site. And bus inspectors who see Sun Travel Tours on the road are told to "pass" it because of its safety record.

Its only inspection in which a driver was ordered to stop driving also occurred in June 2004. That driver was put out of service for failing to keep a current logbook designed to ensure that drivers aren't too tired to drive.

Sun Travel Tours drivers have received only one traffic ticket in 2 ½ years, according to the federal site.

Staff writer Michael Grabell and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Weight leads to cremation delay, apology

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County administrators apologized Wednesday to the family of a woman who has not been given a pauper's cremation because of her weight.

A special program the county has with UT Southwestern Medical School called the indigent disposition program helps indigents or families too poor to pay for a burial. The body is first offered to the medical school or is cremated and the county picks up the tab.

However, that wasn't how it worked for one Sam Robert's mother.

"I feel like I've been slapped in the face," Roberts said.

For most of her life, Charlotte Ann Blue was an RN at Parkland Hospital with a career of caring.

"Because I'm her son I'm a little biased, but she was a nurse extraordinaire," Roberts said.

On Feb. 6 Blue died after an illness that financially wiped her out. So, Roberts, 58, used the indigent disposition program.

As far as he knew, he said he assumed she had been cremated and her ashes interned at a special Memorial Garden at UT Southwestern. But, then he called to get a death certificate and found out differently.

"That's when I was informed that for the last two months she's been sitting in the deep freeze at the medical examiner's office because the crematorium that does business for the county says, 'Oh well, she's too big [and] too fat."

Under the program, the county pays $300 for cremation of a body of up to 300 pounds. Blue weighed 457 pounds.

The Medical Examiner would not talk on camera but said larger bodies use more resources and the funeral home wanted $157 bucks more, which is dollar a pound.

While the lawyers haggled, Blue has sat in the cooler.

Roberts said since he didn't know, he wonders how many others this might have happened to.

"How many other families don't know what's going on?" he said. "How many other families have someone wrapped up like a piece of sausage in the ME's office because...someone's bickering over money."

After News 8 calls, the county administrator approved the funds and apolgized that Blue's remains got caught up in red tape.

[TexasStooge]

Reform may cut property taxes

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

AUSTIN, Texas - While Texas homeowners could see their property taxes cut by a third, smokers may see taxes on cigarettes jump in a plan unveiled by Governor Perry.

The property tax cut is the center of a plan announced Tuesday to reform how the state funds schools.

To help pay for the cut, cigarette taxes would jump a dollar a pack and some business loopholes would close. Also, the governor said he wants one billion dollars from the state surplus.

On their lunch break to enjoy a smoke, Brandon Reed and Willie Rocker said they are against paying higher cigarette taxes.

"You got other things you can tax on that make more money than cigarettes," Reed said.

Rocker, however, admits a tax increase could lead to better health.

"I might just stop smoking then," he said. "I ain't going to pay no extra dollar."

But just outside the office building where he works, Blake Elshire said not all smokers are against a bigger cigarette tax.

"I'm willing to support education as much as possible, so another dollar really wouldn't hurt me that much," he said.

But while smokers would pay more in the new plan, homeowners would pay less.

Coming out of the appraisal district office where she picked up some paperwork, homeowner Brenda Costilla said she likes the sound of that.

"That's good," she said. "I need that. We need that."

Costilla would see the school tax bill on her Duncanville home drop $500, which is down to $1,000 a year.

"It would be used for other expenses that we have sometimes, child care [and] other stuff you know," she said. "It just takes away from your other stuff that improves on your home..."

Sales taxes would not go up under this plan, but the business tax would be rewritten to close loopholes that now allow most businesses to avoid paying it.

The restaurant industry is the biggest private employer in Texas and many believe the revised business tax would not threaten jobs or job growth.

"The proposed tax in conjunction with the property tax reduction, it works out to pretty much a wash from the way that we have looked at all the numbers," said Frank Barnard, Greater Dallas Restaurant Association.

[TexasStooge]

Plano soccer coach faces additional charges

By KAREN AYRES / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO, Texas - A Plano soccer coach accused of inappropriately touching two young girls faces more charges after similar complaints from other children surfaced after his arrest this month.

Dennis Drummond, 64, turned himself in at the Collin County Jail late Tuesday afternoon in the face of two more arrest warrants, according to his lawyer and law enforcement officials. He posted bail and was released.

Police say Mr. Drummond, who coached several girls soccer teams in recent years, is likely to face another warrant. Right now, Mr. Drummond faces three charges of indecency with a child by contact and one charge of attempted indecency with a child.

The latest charges include an allegation that Mr. Drummond touched a girl on the outside of her shorts last fall during a team practice in Plano.

Mr. Drummond's attorney, Paul Stuckle, said Wednesday that his client denies the charges.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas parks in dire need of green

Years of budget cuts have left $900 million maintenance backlog

By KATIE FAIRBANK and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - It rains on the inside basketball courts at Exline Recreation Center. Volunteers paint the grubby walls at Harry Stone. Staffers scrape together money to replace a stolen air conditioner at Mildred L. Dunn.

Budgets are so tight at Dallas' Park and Recreation Department that a $900 million maintenance backlog has built up over years of belt-tightening. The city is cautious about accepting land donations for parks because there is little spare money to maintain them.

Supporters fear things are only going to get worse with new Trinity River facilities and parks, adding what is essentially a 6.5-mile-long park complete with a chain of lakes, amphitheater and trails.

"The money is going to get tighter," said Darlene Green, a 25-year volunteer at the Exline center in southern Dallas. "There will be less money for recreation centers, especially after they add that Trinity."

If more funds aren't allocated, "we'll get in a deeper hole," said C.W. Whitaker, president of Dallas' Park Board. "The money has to come from somewhere. I don't want it to take away from the little money that we're getting now."

The Trinity River plans, much of which should be complete by 2012, would cost the park department about $4.2 million annually and require 35 additional full-time employees for maintenance and operations under the barebones estimate. The deluxe package would take an estimated $10.5 million and 131 new employees.

Those needs add to what is required just to maintain the park system and recreation centers the city has now. The park budget for fiscal 2005-06 was $65.3 million, including $19.7 million for maintenance.

"It will be like any new facility or new capital program we go into. We'll have to maintain it," said City Manager Mary Suhm, noting that the park department's maintenance backlog is not surprising.

Seemed like a good idea

In the late 1980s and early '90s, maintenance cutbacks looked like a painless way to trim the budget. But the cuts went on for so many years that they left a significant backlog, park officials say.

"I think that every part of the city has suffered from reductions in maintenance and operations over the past several years," Ms. Suhm said, noting that the citywide needs inventory carries a $7.2 billion price tag. "We've just been kind of patching things over for the last several years. Do I know they've got drastic needs? Yeah, I do know."

The city has more than 21,500 acres of dedicated parkland and about 1,500 facilities – including pools, golf courses, tennis courts and soccer fields. More than 2.6 million people use them annually.

Despite that popularity, the parks and recreation centers have seen their budgets shrink – so much so that Dallas now spends less on its parks than most other large cities, according to the most recent comparable statistics from the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit land-conservation group.

"We are the fourth-largest park system in the country, land-area-wise," said Michael Hellmann, a park planner for the city. "We've got a whole lot more to deal with than these other cities that are spending a lot more."

According to a survey by the trust, Dallas spent only $60 per resident in fiscal 2003 for operating and capital expenses for parks. The average was $91, and Dallas ranked behind cities such as Fort Worth, Arlington and Austin.

"It's definitely way below average," said Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence with the Trust for Public Land. "They're hoping that it can get by on sort of a minimal level of funding."

It's quite a change from the park department's heyday. In 1984, Dallas received national recognition as a premier park system. Then money got tight and the city started hacking away at the budget and staff. It took only a few years before the system was "caught in a downward spiral," according to the Park and Recreation Department's long-range development plan.

"The ongoing effects of this prolonged budgetary malaise include deteriorating parks impacted by limited maintenance levels and capital investment, lack of citizen satisfaction and a poor image for the city as a whole," the plan said.

People understand that slashing funding for essential services such as police and fire protection can cause problems. But drastically siphoning away funds from the park maintenance budget is just as shortsighted, Mr. Harnik said.

"It doesn't make sense to not keep it up, just like if a homeowner didn't keep up his home," he said. "Parks are as much a part of the infrastructure as highways, sewers and housing, and you just can't take it for granted."

Things have deteriorated so badly within the park department that the needs inventory totals $2.7 billion, with about one-third required for deferred maintenance. That's after the department used most of a bond program worth about $100 million from 2003 to repair run-down buildings, update playgrounds and fix up parks.

"There are just not enough bucks available for all the needs," said Joyce Lockley, a volunteer at the K.B. Polk Recreation Center near Love Field since the 1980s. "The parks and recreation centers are stretched probably as far as they can go."

The department is hoping the next bond proposal will come to the rescue and is expecting to request $200 million to $300 million.

Bad habits

The city got into this fix because traditionally, the Dallas way has been to add on more land and facilities without increasing the money to take care of them.

Since fiscal 1997-98, several recreation centers, a children's zoo and the Kiest athletic complex have been built. But the department ended up with only six additional positions, and the budget went up just $18.8 million. To try to bridge all the demands, the department stopped comp time and merit raises for a while and reduced recreation center hours during that same period.

"Sooner or later it catches up with you," said Carolyn Bray, assistant director of the Dallas park system's east region. Her territory includes 23 recreation centers and almost 200 parks.

"We have a constant repair effort that we have to make sure we're always on top of. We're struggling with old, outdated infrastructure," Ms. Bray said. "A lot of things you just have to patch up and hope that it doesn't get too bad."

For years, people have begged for help.

"If something goes down, you have to get in line. You'd have that if it were a stove, an air conditioner, a heating unit. You're not going to get fast service" because of all the cuts, Ms. Lockley said.

The parks' maintenance department, which is responsible for upkeep outside the buildings, has lost 36 full-time and six part-time positions since fiscal 1987.

Those cuts virtually eliminated the ability to perform preventive maintenance and stretched the time to complete a repair, said Jerry Foote, manager of facility services.

Mechanics scarce

For instance, sometimes it takes up to four weeks to fix equipment because just 10 mechanics maintain about 320 pieces of equipment such as tractors, mowers and chain saws.

Only this fiscal year was Mr. Foote able to restart electrical preventive maintenance because four new electrician jobs were added.

"We're going out and finding all this stuff that hasn't been done in 10 or 15 years," he said.

Cuts to other city departments that help maintain park facilities exacerbate the problem. The Equipment & Building Services department, which maintains the interior of facilities for the city, eliminated its painting staff in fiscal 2002-03, removing $214,727 in salaries from its budget. As a result, all city departments now must hire contractors and pay for their own painting contracts.

The park department spent $40,000 last year on painting. Even so, office staff and volunteers do much of the painting. In addition, park officials say many facilities simply don't get done.

"Facilities wear out quicker when you don't spend on maintenance," said Willis Winters, a parks assistant director. "We can't keep going the way we've been going without getting adequate money to maintain or operate them."

At the Exline center, workers struggle to keep the well-loved and much-used facility in good shape.

"We have to fight for every little bit that we've gotten," said Ms. Green, a member of the recreation center's advisory board.

[TexasStooge]

As protests cool, time to discipline, refocus

Fewer students walk out as schools try to bolster youths' grasp of issues, boundaries

By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News

Educators across North Texas began school Wednesday with the conflicting need to discipline thousands of student protesters while advising them how to continue making their voices heard – without skipping class.

Schools were generally back to normal Wednesday after two days of student walkouts over a proposed crackdown on illegal immigration. Only a handful of schools reported student protests.

About 100 students walked out of school in the Birdville district, and 60 Mesquite students caravanned to Dallas City Hall waving flags and wearing face paint. Upon arrival, they were rounded up by police, cited for truancy and sent off the property.

"All of our parents know we're here," said 16-year-old Juan Trevino from John Horn High School. "We were more calm, more respectful than those other students. And we're getting issued tickets."

Dallas police Sgt. R.G. Butler said the protesters hadn't been trouble but "we're concerned about them being truants."

Students who missed class time protesting Monday and Tuesday were given unexcused absences by many districts. Under state rules, students are allowed 10 such absences per semester. When they exceed that, districts are supposed to refer them and their parents to truancy court.

Many area schools focused on getting students and teachers to think about a bigger lesson that could be gleaned from this week's emotional protests at Dallas City Hall.

At Irving's Nimitz High School, Advanced Placement government teacher Helen Bradley said her students are producing a pamphlet to distribute in English and Spanish that outlines the proposed federal legislation and state programs.

About 1,000 Irving students participated in protests Tuesday at Dallas City Hall.

"When many students descended upon downtown Dallas to participate in the latest round of protests, my government students expressed concern about whether or not some of the protesters even understood the issues being debated at the state and national level," Ms. Bradley wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "My students want to educate fellow students and their community on the issues."

Letters to lawmakers

At Irving's Union Bower Center for Learning, history teacher Lonnie Hash said students reviewed articles on immigration issues and are writing letters to U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn expressing their positions. Most of Mr. Hash's students in the high school's literacy program are immigrants.

"They knew about the protests, but they didn't really understand the issues. They were asking, 'Why are they picking on us?' " he said. "When they came into class, they all asked if they could get papers to read what's going on. They were interested in finding out what they can do."

Irving students will not be allowed to make up missed tests or assignments, school officials said.

At Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, administrators and community leaders were helping students plan an in-school assembly where students could learn more about the proposed immigration reforms. They also offered to collect and mail to lawmakers letters that students have written about the issue.

"We're listening to what their goals are," said Nancy Vail, Woodrow principal. "Mostly we're having them think about how to best deal with our student body and the pressure they're getting from the outside to walk out. We want to help them channel this in a constructive manner."

'Keep them informed'

Woodrow senior Genaro Silva said student leaders are organizing efforts at the school to inform their classmates about the issues.

"The best way to keep the calm is to keep them informed," he said. "So we're planning meetings and assemblies to inform them how to protest without being disruptive."

DISD officials said district and city police officers were on alert for protesters and would be issuing tickets or making arrests if necessary.

In the Birdville district in northeast Tarrant County, about 25 students from Haltom High School marched into downtown Fort Worth, district and police officials said.

About 50 students had walked out of Birdville High School, another district campus, on Tuesday. Mark Thomas, district spokesman, said students who walked out would be given unexcused absences.

Coppell police and school officials said truancy officers found about a dozen ninth- and 10th-graders off campus Wednesday morning and took them back to school.

At Arlington's Hutcheson Junior High, a small group of students left school even though administrators encouraged them not to. School district officials said those students wouldn't be allowed to return to the campus unless accompanied by a parent.

Grand Prairie officials estimated that 2,158 secondary students participated in Tuesday's protest. District spokesman Sam Buchmeyer said that is about 18 percent of the district's 11,469 secondary students.

Unexcused absences

Grand Prairie officials initially required students who missed school for Tuesday's protest to bring a parent with them Wednesday to return to class, but it quickly became clear that enforcing the rule was impractical.

"For instance, I can tell you that at Grand Prairie High School, out of about 492 students who missed classes, only nine parents showed up," Mr. Buchmeyer said.

During an emergency meeting of secondary administrators Tuesday evening, Grand Prairie school officials decided that, in addition to giving the students an unexcused absence Tuesday, the district also will require students to serve one day of in-school suspension.

Students who leave school again to protest will be considered truant and be given three days of in-school suspension as mandated by the district's policy, Mr. Buchmeyer said.

"We're trying to enlist the aid of parents to let students know walking out of school is not appropriate behavior," Mr. Buchmeyer said. "And it doesn't matter if Mom and Dad are condoning that behavior. It's still unacceptable, and the students need to know there are consequences."

Staff writers Emily Ramshaw, Katherine Leal Unmuth, Toya Lynn Stewart, Kathy Goolsby, Stella Chávez and Marissa Alanis contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Burleson parents, police watch for predator

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

BURLESON, Texas — Burleson police are patrolling near the city's schools, hoping to nab an alleged sexual predator.

Four incidents in the last two weeks have parents and police on alert.

Ten-year-old Jessica Freeman has been learning a lesson in awareness that could save her life. "If strangers ask you, 'Hey, do you want some money?' or, 'Can you help me look for my puppy?' you just say, 'no,' and just run away."

Jessica attends one of the Burleson elementary schools where, police say, a potential sexual predator is preying on children.

"Individuals described that a gold car had approached the girls and asked them if they would like to see a new puppy," said police Capt. Chris Havens.

The girls got away that time, but Burleson police and school officials said there have been four similar incidents in the last two weeks.

In each case, a man fitting same description tried to lure young children into his car. This has happened at four Burleson schools: Mound and Frazier elementary and Hughes and Kerr middle schools.

Jessica is acutely aware of what to do when classes end. "We just walk outside, and if we see our parents, we can run to them," she said.

Burleson police have stepped up patrols at every school, and a safety alert has been sent to parents with a description of the suspect: A white male, 5'-10" to 6 feet tall, medium build, with medium length brown hair and wearing a tank top and blue jeans. The man was said to be unshaven, dirty, and he had tattoos on his arms.

He was last seen in an older model American car with faded gold paint. Witnesses said the back seat was cluttered.

Amanda Abraham, whose children attend Burleson schools, hasn't stopped looking for the man.

"Every car that fits that model, I'm almost wanting to stop and pull them over and say, 'Hey what are you up to?' or, 'Do you have tattoos?'" she said. "I don't want it to happen here."

Police offered this advice to Burleson parents on protecting their children:

• Driving your child to school is the best thing you can do until police make an arrest.

• If your child rides a bike to school, make sure he or she is in a group.

• Instruct your child to leave the area immediately if they see anything suspicious.

• Parents should note the license plate number and call 911 immediately if they see anything suspicious.

• Don't attempt to make contact with a suspicious person.

[TexasStooge]

1 dead, 1 injured in Lake Highlands shooting

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 26-year-old Dallas man was killed early Thursday and his companion was injured after a confrontation in Lake Highlands.

Everette Jarvis and Felicia Dudley, 22, of Dallas were walking to their apartment in the 10900 block of Audelia Road about 1 a.m. when they were confronted by two men in their 20s. The three men got involved in some sort of dispute, and then one suspect pulled a gun and fired several shots, Dallas police Senior Cpl. Max Geron said.

Jarvis was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. Dudley, who was shot in the back, was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Geron said it does not appear that the victims knew the suspects, or that the case involved drugs. “Other than it being a verbal altercation, the motive is unclear,” he said.

[TexasStooge]

Between two worlds

In all the debate over policies and jobs, don't forget that immigration is about real families and real kids - many of whom were born on this side of the border

By MACARENA HERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News

One photograph from the dozens I've seen since Saturday burns into my brain. It shows 15-year-old Michelle Marquez, an Irving eighth-grader, wrapped in an American flag and being taunted by other Latino teens waving Mexican flags.

It ran yesterday on Page 6A of our newspaper and is reproduced above. It disturbed me not because of the legions of readers perplexed that more protesting students didn't wave American flags, but because the kids miss the point. I'm not surprised that the sight of so many Mexican flags angers so many Americans. The flags reinforce the widely held fear that Latinos, especially the ones here illegally, reject assimilation – even though assimilation is inevitable.

And as if I'm one to talk. In college, I hung a Mexican flag in my apartment, not that I could recite the Mexican pledge of allegiance or sing the national anthem. The flag reminded me of my parents' homeland and what they'd sacrificed.

So I understand the confusion between Michelle and the other students ditching class to protest proposed changes to U.S. immigration laws. Hyphenated Americans are squeezed between two worlds and often forced to choose. But the Mexican flag is a symbol of cultural pride, the same orgullo felt by the Irish, Polish and Germans when they were new to our shores. It doesn't make a person less American.

Michelle, you can't pick sides, nor should you. Americans come in all flavors, baby.

As I studied the photo, I thought back to watching the half-million souls peacefully marching through downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, how that visual left me energized and inspired. César Chávez once rallied tens of thousands, but the Latino community's forte never has been turning out in big numbers to protest.

"We're used to taking it," many young protesters in Dallas told me. "It's about time."

Other spectators scratched their heads from afar, wondering how illegal immigrants could have the audacity to demand rights, to protest in the open, after violating U.S. law by sneaking across the border.

For the record, many of those marching across the country were not "illegals," but their children and grandchildren. They – and many others who marched – understand that just because something is illegal, it doesn't make it immoral. Like me, they believe in our social responsibility to take care of the children and poor.

The Sensenbrenner immigration bill passed by the U.S. House in December would criminalize illegal immigrants and those who help or employ them. It also threatens to rip apart families, and how un-American is that? The Senate Judiciary Committee came back this week with a much more compassionate version, but the fight is far from over.

In Dallas, as in Los Angeles and elsewhere, college and high school students marched beside busboys, lawyers, teachers and waiters holding signs that read, "Loving my family is not a felony" and "Compassion is not a crime." Student demonstrations continued this week, thanks to MySpace.com and text-messaging campaigns. (And they say these kids aren't assimilated?)

The kids have plenty of reasons to protest.

More than half of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants are members of families, and nearly two-thirds of their children were born in the U.S. This debate transcends immigration policies and big corporate interests; at its core, we can't forget that it's about people, millions of them children.

I once taught high school, and I don't know what I would have done if two-thirds of my class walked out to protest as they did Monday. But I know that by Tuesday – the day kids were swarming Dallas City Hall and going for swims in the reflecting pool – I would have said, "You've made your point."

And I would remind them that César Chávez, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, advocated nonviolence. A protest is only productive if it is done in peace and with purpose.

I'm sure teachers today are using the protests to explain how a bill becomes a law and how laws affect real people. If some of these kids didn't understand the details behind the House bill – and, seriously, how many adults do? – they do now.

Students, if you want to continue the revolution, value your education. Get good grades. Go to college. Register to vote.

And vote.

Then come back and help others do the same.

Macarena Hernández is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist.


IRWIN THOMPSON / Dallas Morning News
Michelle Marquez (left), an 8th grade student at Lamar Middle School in Irving, was taunted by other students for having an American flag during an immigration protest on Tuesday at Kiest Park in Dallas.