News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Mother, daughter dead in Dallas fire

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A mother and her adult daughter died Thursday morning when fire swept through their home just east of downtown Dallas.

A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman said the victims likely died of smoke inhalation as their house in the 3000 block of Fairview Avenue was consumed sometime around 5:45 a.m.

“We’re not sure because we still need to notify next of kin, but it appears to be a woman in her 50s and another woman in her 70s,” Lt. Joel Lavender said.

The older woman died at the scene. Her daughter was transported to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Investigators said they found a smoke detector, but it did not have a battery.

“We do know that some neighbors reported hearing screams from inside the house,” Lavender said.

Firefighters will be visiting homeowners in the neighborhood Thursday to provide free smoke detectors for those who cannot afford them. Residents also may call 311 and request one, he said.

[TexasStooge]

Candle sparks Louisiana fire; 10 dead

MARRERO, La. (WFAA ABC 8/AP Wire) — Fire sparked by a burning candle engulfed a second-floor apartment in this New Orleans suburb early Thursday, killing at least 10 people, authorities said.

Four people escaped, said Mark Goldman of the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office. He said the apartment was totally aflame when rescue workers arrived shortly after 5 a.m.

The dead, all found on the second floor, included an infant and some older children, Goldman said. It appeared that some victims had died of smoke inhalation and some of burns, he said, but autopsies will be needed to tell. He had no further details.

Asked if firefighters might find more bodies, he said, "I hope not. When we first got here we thought it was four, maybe five, then we shot up to 10."

According to police spokesman Bob Garner, the youngest victim was a 6-month-old baby; the oldest was 42 years old. All of the victims are either direct or extended family.

Garner said the family had recently moved into the neighborhood, and were using candles to light their home because there was no electricity. The candles apparently ignited bedding in the apartment, and it spread from there, Garner said.

The fire was under control with two hours after firefighters arrived. Goldman said firefighters managed to keep it almost entirely to one townhouse.

WWL-TV and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Kids in meth labs: a growing problem

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Every year more than 3,000 children in this country are pulled out of homes where people are cooking methamphetamine.

In an exclusive video obtained by News 8, police storm a meth lab. Inside, they find dangerous volatile chemicals - and a baby.

"The ether and the solvents that are used are highly explosive," said a Dallas Police narcotics squad detective. "There's a large fire danger."

While police wear full chemical suits, they find children unprotected.

"Nobody should be exposed to those types of chemicals, and the kids can have long-term health effects," said Jenny Gomez, a counselor at the Betty Ford Clinic.

The stories of children forced to live in such conditions are heartbreaking. Four-year-old Jerome was spotted by police in his Halloween costume, running back and forth from his house at 4:00. He was looking for his school bus.

"He was coming out to check for his bus," Gomez said. "He was making sure it was coming; he just wanted to go to his Halloween party."

In Dallas, police arrested Kelly Briggs and Jerry Giles. Police said the couple cooked speed in their home. According to court papers, Briggs' two-year-old daughter drank a bottle inside the home filled with meth. The papers stated the child "was lifeless ... and drooling like a rabid dog" when she was found.

"It was a Coke bottle, and the child grabbed it not knowing what it was and took a big swig," Gomez said. "(She) now has some serious long-term medical complications."

State legislators are now taking a close look at the problem of children living in speed labs. There is a bill on the table that would enhance the punishment, adding longer prison time for those caught cooking meth with kids present.

Children's advocates and police said Texas needs to take a harsher stance on this issue, because the group at risk are innocent children who can't protect themselves.

Next month, the Betty Ford Clinic is sponsoring a clinic specifically to deal with the problem of children living in their parents' meth labs.

Several state legislators are sponsoring bills to stiffen the penalty for people who cook meth with children around.

[TexasStooge]

Man jailed in '90s Arlington assaults

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas - Authorities have arrested a 45-year-old man on charges that he molested three boys under age 10 in the 1990s in Arlington after befriending their single mothers and gaining the families' trust.

Based on their month-old preliminary investigation, which has uncovered a fourth victim whose case is too old to prosecute, Arlington police believe that James Roland Schultz may have preyed on others.

"He became their father figure or their mentor," said Lt. Blake Miller, an Arlington police spokesman. "He got into a comfort zone with these folks. He had free access to the family. ... We're trying to get a timeline on where he's been."

Police said Mr. Schultz also had victims stay overnight at his residence and sometimes looked after children overnight in their homes.

Arlington police arrested Mr. Schultz on Friday in Plano on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Those charges are based on allegations made by two brothers, now ages 18 and 20, who told authorities last month that they were molested between 1993 and 1998, police said.

Mr. Schultz was released on bail the same day and rearrested by Plano police Wednesday after Arlington detectives found a third accuser. That man, now 21, told police that Mr. Schultz molested him at an Arlington apartment in the 1990s.

Mr. Schultz was being held Wednesday in Plano on suspicion of indecency with a child. Bail was set at $25,000.

Police said Mr. Schultz has a history of living in apartments and has had a Euless address.

Investigators encourage additional victims or their parents to contact police through the Alliance for Children's tip line at (817) 795-1803.

[TexasStooge]

Schools may be penalized for too-high tuition hikes

Senate plan would withhold some funding if cap is exceeded

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Senate budget writers sent a warning to universities Wednesday: If you raise tuition too high, you will lose state funds.

A measure by Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, is meant to curb the tuition increases that have come since lawmakers voted in 2003 to allow universities to set their tuition rates. Since then, tuition has risen an average of 16 percent.

Under the proposal approved by the Senate Finance Committee, 10-5, universities could not increase designated tuition, the portion of tuition rates universities are allowed to set, to more than $94 a semester hour.

If they did, they would lose some state funding, depending on how much higher the tuition was increased.

Tuition would be higher than $94 because the measure does not restrict how much lawmakers are allowed to raise tuition.

The University of Texas at Austin would be the only university affected immediately because its designated tuition is $94 a semester hour now.

The UT System board of regents is set to vote today on tuition increases for several schools in the system, including a 4.75 percent increase at UT-Austin. If the tuition cap measure, contained in the Senate's budget plan, is approved in the House, which is putting together its own budget, it would take effect in September.

In a letter to lawmakers, UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof said the measure encourages universities to use fees, which are not regulated by lawmakers, and said financial aid will decline.

[TexasStooge]

WFAA ABC 8 wins multiple awards

Texas AP Broadcasters, Cronkite Awards honor station

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) received a Walter Cronkite Award for its political coverage in 2004, along with several awards in the 2004-2005 Texas Associated Press Broadcasters contest announced Wednesday.

The Dallas/Fort Worth ABC affiliate, which is owned by Belo, received the Cronkite Award for what the judging committee called a “continuing commitment to expose political issues and candidates to viewers.”

During the 2004 campaign, the station covered both local and national races extensively, and created a unique partnership with another station in the market to provide free air time for candidates.

In a letter to WFAA, USC Annenberg School for Communication Dean Geoffrey Cowan wrote, "There is no better way to strengthen American democracy that to help citizens understand what is at stake in political campaigns. Your work ensures that it is not only paid ads that reach viewers, but also the reporting and analysis of seasoned professionals. I hope this award encourages stations everywhere to honor the kind of work you do so well."

The TAPB gave WFAA a first-place Division I "Best Newscast" award for a June newscast that covered the fatal drownings at the Fort Worth Water Gardens. The station also received an award for its coverage of the Dallas Zoo gorilla attack.

WFAA reporter Brett Shipp, producer Mark Smith and editor/photographer Kraig Kirchem received an award for their "State of Denial" series of investigative reports on the worker's compensation crisis in Texas. Recently, that series also won a DuPont Award.

Other WFAA award winners included the "Why TV" and "Dallas at the Tipping Point" specials, the "Photographers: Magic" documentary and an award for overall station excellence in photojournalism.

Awards will be presented Saturday evening, April 16, at the TAPB banquet at the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel in Austin.

The banquet speaker will be John Quinones of ABC News in New York.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Play offers lessons on dying

'Dead Man Walking' pushes Jesuit Prep students beyond performing, into an evaluation of death penalty

By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Tim Robbins figures that good theater can pull some kids away from malls and video games and into serious thinking.

At one Dallas high school this week, he's being proven right.

Days before the Texas premiere of Mr. Robbins' new play, Dead Man Walking, members of the high school cast were discussing capital punishment.

"When I started the play, I wasn't necessarily opposed," said Kelly O'Neill, 16. "Now, I just see it as just a form of lynching people."

Kelly has the role of death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean. The nun's book inspired the 1995 movie that Mr. Robbins directed – and that he's rewritten as this new play. The show opens tonight for a four-performance run at Jesuit College Preparatory School.

Anna Rossini, 15, plays Hope. Her character is raped and murdered. Before starting rehearsals, she opposed capital punishment. The show has tipped her thinking – but maybe not in the direction you'd expect.

After playing a victim and after watching the pain of her "family" in the drama, "I'm not as, 'No, no, no' about it as I was before," she said. "Now I'm more for it than against."

For Mr. Robbins, the students' talk is as much the point as the show. An Oscar nominee for directing the movie, Mr. Robbins wrote the play at Sister Helen's urging. And, at her suggestion, he's made it available only to student productions – principally, at Jesuit schools such as the one in Dallas.

"The important thing is that they are immersed in it," said the actor, who was raised Catholic and opposes capital punishment. "The problem right now is that most people who support the death penalty do it without really thinking about it."

It's not a simple play for high-schoolers – it has 38 parts, Mr. Robbins provided minimal staging instructions and the cast members all carry the usual load of classes and teenage angst.

It's also pretty sophisticated for a young cast. Despite Sister Helen's and Mr. Robbins' famous opposition to the death penalty, the play is not easy propaganda: This is not the story of an unfairly accused man; the murderer whose story drives the play is guilty of a brutal crime.

Sister Helen is scheduled to attend, assuming she makes it back to this hemisphere in time from an Australian speaking tour.

The Rev. Gene Sessa, a teacher at Jesuit, is the play's director and the person ultimately responsible for particulars as varied as ticket sales, lighting angles and program wording.

"Right now I've got to have rehearsals; otherwise, we won't have any show to have a program for," he told a student Monday afternoon. That morning, with a dozen of the older students, he had gone to Huntsville to tour the state's death chamber.

Dead Man Walking is based on Sister Helen's best-selling memoir about her work with Louisiana death row inmates. Susan Sarandon won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Sister Helen in the film.

So why a play, 10 years after a successful movie? The short answer, Mr. Robbins said, is that Sister Helen prodded him into writing it. She felt a play – which can be produced many times and in many places – could bring the issue continually to new audiences. Mr. Robbins doesn't rule out eventually taking it to Broadway.

But once the script was finished, Sister Helen suggested that it be made available almost exclusively to Jesuit high schools and colleges. She has friends who are Jesuits, and the order has a long history of social justice work.

Of the 80 Jesuit schools in the United States, 33 decided to take it on. The first production, at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, was last October. About 20 other schools have already done their versions.

The Dallas show was almost a foregone conclusion: Father Sessa served on a national committee of Jesuit school officials who planned distribution of the play last year.

The show comes with some unusual requirements: Any profits must be donated to charity. Discussion of capital punishment must be incorporated somewhere into the school curriculum. (At Jesuit, the entire junior class is reading the book Dead Man Walking.) And the cast must send Mr. Robbins its critique with suggestions on how to improve the show.

Tom Thorpe agreed with capital punishment when he first got involved with Jesuit College Preparatory's production. 'Now, I'm questioning it a lot more,' he says.
The play is gritty, particularly for a high school production. It's the story of a naïve nun's education and a brutal killer's deceit, followed by contrition. Murder, rape and coarse language are all written in. (The Dallas show makes only one change in the script: an F-word to "Damn.")

The classrooms of Jesuit Prep, on Inwood Road just south of LBJ Freeway, are anything but gritty. The affluent private school has about 1,000 boys, more than 80 percent of them Catholic. (The girls in the cast come from Ursuline Academy, a nearby Catholic school for girls.) The boys and girls show up to rehearsals well-groomed and uniformed – boys in ties, girls in plaid skirts.

It's a long way from the bayous and squalor of Louisiana's backcountry and prisons.

Even Mr. Robbins, whose 15-year-old son with Ms. Sarandon is the same age as some Jesuit cast members, is a bit uncomfortable with the idea of high-schoolers staging the play. But there's a real value in students trying their hands at a show this ambitious, he said.

"Theater and support of theater is more than simply musicals and benign comedies," he said.

And Jesuit Prep has a history of doing sophisticated theater. Last year, it produced Boxcar, based on a 1987 West Texas case involving the suffocation of 18 illegal immigrants in a sealed railroad car.

"When kids are stretched, they can do amazing things," Father Sessa said. "They surprise even themselves."

Dead Man Walking, the play, has already been so successful that Mr. Robbins and Sister Helen have recently decided to offer it – same strings attached – to any school that wants it, Catholic or otherwise. Letters will be sent in the next few weeks to colleges and universities with strong drama departments. Word of mouth alone has been enough to line up about 50 new schools that want to produce the show. A play based on the life of a death penalty opponent is a natural fit for a Catholic school. The official Catholic position on capital punishment has evolved in the last decade from a qualified support to almost total opposition.

As recently as 1992, the catechism said that the state had the right "to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty."

But in 1995, Pope John Paul II said capital punishment should be reserved to cases of "absolute necessity" – and that such cases are "very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

But the play, like the movie, isn't simply a screed against the death penalty. The pain of the victims' families and their desire that the murderer be executed are central to the story. That balance is necessary for good drama, Mr. Robbins said. "I think that storytelling is storytelling," he said. "It's not a lecture."

That means his show – and the Jesuit production – leave room for disagreement and discussion. Even for the cast members.

Matt Clark, 18, plays Mitch, brother to the killer in the production. He was among the cast members who spent Monday in Huntsville.

He returned to Dallas with uncomfortable memories of the dark cells and the disinfectant smell of the execution room – and with a newfound ambivalence. He's still against capital punishment. But prison officials had recounted stories of convicted murderers assaulting guards and other prisoners.

"I wouldn't want them hurting anybody else," he said.

Tom Thorpe, 18, plays Matthew Poncelet, the murderer central to the story. (Sean Penn starred in the role in the film.) When Tom started the show, he leaned toward supporting the death penalty, he said last week.

"Now, I'm honestly not sure. Now, I'm questioning it a lot more.

"I hope to decide," he said, "by the end of the play."

[TexasStooge]

Man Convicted Of Killing Wife

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KEYE CBS 42) - A Williamson County jury convicted a Cedar Park man of murdering his wife Thursday.

Gregory "Mike" Klapesky strangled his wife, Kali Sansone in September 2003 then tried to bury her in a friends backyard in Hays County.

Jurors began hearing testimony Thursday on Klapeskys punishment.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Man Shot In Argument Over Drug Territory

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KSAT ABC 12) - Police were searching for two men Wednesday in connection with the shooting of a 25-year-old man.

David Davila was arguing with two men outside the Deerwood Apartments at 227 Deerwood Drive at 5:30 a.m. when gunshots rang out, police said.

"I ran out there and I saw him laying out there," said Angie Lopez, the victim's girlfriend.

Davila was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. He was shot multiple times in his chest, police said.

Sgt. Sean Ury of the San Antonio Police Department said the victim is "known for drug activity" and the shooting was a result over an argument over drug-sale territory.

But a sister-in-law of Davila's told KSAT 12 News that Davila was not a drug dealer.

Police are looking for two men in their late 20s or early 30s.

Several shotgun shell casings were found at the scene, but police believe Davila was shot with a handgun.

[TexasStooge]

Widow Claims Insurance Agent Told Her Husband To Lie

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KSAT ABC 12) - Salvador Placido wanted to make sure he provided for his wife, Isabel Rodriguez, when he died.

Placido invited a Columbian Life Insurance agent to his home to discuss what type of insurance to purchase.

But Placido, who had sclerosis and was a possible candidate for a liver transplant, thought he might have trouble securing insurance.

But the agent reassured Placido and Rodriguez that everything would be OK.

"He looked like an honest man," Rodriguez said. "(But) he ripped us off."

Rodriguez claims the agent went as far as to make sure to not mention Placido's illness to a Columbian Life representative on the telephone.

"He (agent) was coaching him (Placido) all through the conversation not to say nothing," Rodriguez said.

The application was processed and approved and the couple thought they were insured.

But after Placido died Nov. 3, 2004, Rodriguez was told by Columbian Life that the $10,000 claim was rejected because of a pre-existing illness.

Rodriguez claims the agent misrepresented she and her husband.

"I feel like he ripped the money out of my hands," Rodriguez said. "Please read your papers, don't trust your insurance."

In response to Rodriguez's claims, Columbian Life Insurance Company issued the following statement:

"Federal Privacy laws prevent us from disclosing any personal or specific information related to this matter but we can provide information relating to our normal business practices.

"Columbian paid more than $51.2 million in life insurance benefits to beneficiaries last year and the company has been in business for more than 120 years.

"Like most life insurance companies, Columbian normally reviews all deaths occurring within 2 years of the purchase of the policy. If significant, yet undisclosed, medical problems existed at the time the consumer purchased the insurance, state laws provide that the policy can be cancelled and any premiums paid are then refunded.

"If Columbian is informed of allegations of fraud or misconduct, we conduct a thorough and vigorous investigation. Should we uncover any evidence to support the allegations, whether committed by a customer or the agent, we take appropriate disciplinary actions, including reporting to the proper authorities. We are currently in the process of investigating this allegation."

[TexasStooge]

Taking downtown to even greater heights

By Bob Ray Sanders, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - Daydreaming has never been one of my preferred pastimes, but I must admit I've been doing a lot of it during the last few days.

And the vision I have been seeing -- almost to the point of feeling giddy about it -- has nothing to do with me personally. It does have a lot to do with my hometown of Fort Worth, even though it may be more symbolic than anything else.

I realize, of course, that if it is only about symbolism, then it is likely not to happen, nor should it.

Imagine a new 50-story skyscraper in the center of downtown Fort Worth, significantly changing the skyline while becoming a giant exclamation point on the continuing growth and redevelopment of the city's central business district.

While the project isn't on the drawing board yet, some people are thinking about erecting such a building to replace a longtime eyesore. But at the moment, a new skyscraper is only one of several options being considered by one of the fastest-growing companies in the state and one of Fort Worth's most intriguing corporate citizens.

The energy company XTO, whose profits jumped 76 percent last year with sales nearing $2 billion, is already putting its mark on downtown Fort Worth.

The company has bought three historic buildings, moving its headquarters into the renovated 20-story W.T. Waggoner Building on Houston Street. It is restoring the 11-story Baker Building on Houston and just recently acquired the 14-story Executive Plaza (formerly Rattikin Title Building) on Sixth Street for additional office space.

But it was the company's purchase of the Landmark Tower, the old Continental National Bank Building, that may have caused the most buzz around town.

The 30-story tower, once the tallest building in Fort Worth and sporting a giant revolving clock on top, has stood vacant for about 10 years and has become even more unsightly after being struck by a tornado in 2000.

After the former owners lost the building in foreclosure, XTO bought it at auction for $5.5 million.

Slightly more than two months ago, I called an XTO executive to find out what the company was planning to do with the building -- renovate it, tear it down, build more parking on the block, or what?

In a nice way, the executive asked me to be patient and said "we'll let you know something in about 60 days."

Bets were that the company would demolish it, and this week XTO officials confirmed that they were considering bids to raze the building, turning the lot into a city park while deciding what to do with the property later.

XTO President Steve Palko told the Star-Telegram that construction of a 50-story building, which would be the tallest in Fort Worth by 10 stories, was under consideration.

Or, he said, the company could build a smaller structure and simply make it part of a downtown campus with its three existing properties.

It would have to make economic sense, of course. After all, this company is not growing as fast as it is by making dumb business decisions, and I don't get the impression that it is ready to spend millions on symbolism.

Office space in such a building would be expensive -- $30 to $35 a square foot -- and some research has to be done to see if the market can bear it.

At the rate Fort Worth is growing, my guess is studies will show that such a project is feasible.

Regardless, it is an exciting time in Fort Worth.

With the shining new Pier 1 tower and the new RadioShack campus on the north end of downtown, plans for a 15- to 20-story convention center hotel on the south end, renovation of the old Bank One Tower and a proposed mammoth Trinity River project with a town lake, there is no reason to believe that development in the central business district will wane anytime soon.

Fort Worth has never been a city that measures itself by the height of its buildings. That is the way it should be, for our benchmark must always be the quality of life that is created for everyone who lives here.

However, if a company wanted to put its signature on the skyline by adding a modern 50-story skyscraper, it sure wouldn't get any objection from this native son.

[TexasStooge]

Ex-guard who beat, robbed courier gets 23 years

By Ben Tinsley, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - A former security guard accused of beating and robbing an elderly armored car courier was sentenced Thursday to 23 years in prison.

A Tarrant County jury took a combined five hours Wednesday and Thursday to reach the sentence for Raymond David Newsome, 33, of Arlington, a court spokesman said.

Newsome was convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in state District Judge Sharen Wilson's court. He faced up to life in prison for the first-degree felony.

He is accused of hitting David Munselle, 73, three times on the head with an unknown object and stealing his weapon and money March 20, 2004, at Grapevine Mills mall.

Shawn Paschall, one of the prosecutors on the case, said he would have preferred to see Newsome serve more time.

"The victim was a hardworking guy ... who didn't deserve to meet up with the defendant under these circumstances," Paschall said.

Newsome's lead attorney, Rex Barnett of Fort Worth, said he was satisfied with the sentence.

"He did get significantly less than the plea bargain the state offered, so I'm very happy with that," Barnett said. But he declined to say what terms had been offered.

Munselle's injuries required staples to hold his scalp together. He will suffer from nausea and vertigo for the rest of his life, according to testimony.

The jury found Newsome guilty Wednesday after 20 minutes of deliberations.

He was captured 10 days after the robbery, after a tip led police to him at a motel in south Fort Worth. He was arrested by Fort Worth tactical officers, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive unit.

[TexasStooge]

Suspect sought in mom's killing

By Traci Shurley, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - Police searched Thursday night for a man who fatally stabbed a 26-year-old mother of two and injured another man before fleeing from a Morningside house.

Serena Martinez died about 3 p.m. at John Peter Smith Hospital of multiple stab wounds, police reported.

Raul Hernandez, co-owner of the house in the 900 block of Harvey Street, was treated at a hospital for cuts on his neck and left thumb. His injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

Lt. Mark Krey, a police spokesman, declined to identify the man being sought except to say that he is 35 years old. Police and neighbors said he is the father of Martinez's two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

Hernandez, who called 911, co-owns the house with Kenneth Bishop, Detective Matt Hardy said. They allowed the family to stay with them because one of them is related to Martinez, Hardy said.

Next-door neighbor JoAnn Mays said the children told her they saw their mother stabbed.

"Who would do something like that to the mother of their children and in front of their own children?" she asked.

The children were unhurt and will probably be cared for by a grandmother, police said.

Mays said Martinez had been away for a few days. When she returned, the couple fought and the homeowners asked them to leave, Mays said.

The man reportedly left the home Wednesday night but returned Thursday afternoon.

[TexasStooge]

Girlfriend given 40-year term for murder

By Domingo Ramirez Jr., Star-Telegram Staff Writer

GRAPEVINE, Texas - A Grapevine woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday for fatally shooting her real estate agent boyfriend in 2002 and setting his body afire.

Tracey Frame, 35, must serve 20 years before she is eligible for parole, a prosecutor said.

A Tarrant County jury reached its decision Thursday after deliberating for just more than an hour. The jury of 10 men and two women had convicted Frame of murder Wednesday after a week of testimony.

Prosecutors said Frame shot David Nixon, 40, in April 2002 because he had encouraged her to have an abortion the previous December and had planned to end the relationship.

Nixon was dressed in a T-shirt and cotton briefs when an off-duty police officer spotted his burning body April 22, 2002, in a Grand Prairie storm drain. The body was wrapped in an electric blanket and a blue tarpaulin with a rope attached, according to arrest and search warrant affidavits.

On April 9, 2002, police had responded to a domestic dispute at Nixon and Frame's Grapevine home in the 3300 block of Pecan Hollow Court, but no arrests were made.

Nixon was last seen April 18, 2002, when he showed a house in Southlake to a potential buyer. On April 19, Grapevine officers contacted Frame to follow up on the domestic dispute, but she told them that Nixon had moved out and was working out of state.

Nixon's ex-wife reported him missing April 21 after he failed to return telephone calls from his son.

During the trial, defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had no case against Frame because all the evidence was circumstantial.

[TexasStooge]

528 buildings deemed collapse risks

By Bill Teeter, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - Code-compliance officers have completed a list of 528 structures that are serious collapse risks and need to be fixed up or knocked down as soon as possible, Fort Worth Code Compliance Director Carl Smart said Thursday.

The list will be used to decide which of the homes and commercial properties need to be handled first, Smart said.

"It's important to know where the problems are. Then it allows you to better plan where to put the resources to deal with the problems," Smart said.

The city began studying properties in January and Thursday released figures revealing that 528 fall into "category one," meaning they are a danger to the community and need to be handled quickly. The list also notes an additional 1,027 "derelict structures," which are less severe in terms of risk but have been abandoned, Smart said.

Of the category one structures, 127 were already being worked on as code-compliance cases, said Alex Southern, a code-compliance spokesman. One house, at 1344 E. Allen Ave., was demolished by the city Thursday, and two others have been ordered demolished, he said. Six more houses are awaiting the city building official's signature on demolition orders, he said.

The structures are mostly scattered inside Loop 820, with heavy concentrations just south of downtown, in north Fort Worth south of 820 and between Jacksboro Highway and Main Street, in east Fort Worth, and south of the intersection of Horne Street and Camp Bowie Boulevard. Now that they have been identified, the city should be able to get about 50 structures either repaired or removed each year, Smart said.

"We thought there were a number of substandard buildings out there, but we were still surprised to find as many as we did in the survey," Smart said.

When the city finds a problem structure, it tries to find an owner willing to fix it, Southern said. Failing that, the city will proceed with demolition, which usually costs between $2,800 and $4,500, he said. The city will then try to recover demolition costs from the property owner.

"We want to try to get the owner to fix these back up. We don't want to demolish any homes or structures," he said. "But if there is nobody there to bring the structure into compliance or we can't get them into compliance, then the last resort is demolishing one."

[TexasStooge]

Learning the finer points of dance

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater artists teach hundreds of area middle-school students

By Cynthia L. Garza, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - He was just like many of them -- born in Texas and reared in midst of adversity.

But one of the masterpieces that choreographer Alvin Ailey created, drawing on his memories of segregated rural Texas and the gospel music of the black church, is a message of a flourishing spirit. And for the past week, more than 100 Dunbar and Daggett middle school students have shared the spirit.

Students and their teachers have examined Revelations, Ailey's signature work, as they have studied with teaching artists from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York.

Revelations is "really about the human spirit," said Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, a former dancer with the company who is director of its Arts in Education and Community Outreach program.

Dance allows students to express themselves spiritually and physically.

"A lot of them feel that they do not have a voice, and they have a lot to say. But there are not a lot of people listening," Thomas-Schmitt said.

The children also wrote about their experience.

Thirteen-year-old Jordan McClendon wrote a poem: "It keeps you moving and on your feet/ Moving with passion, never missing a beat."

The assignment at the end of the session Thursday was to choreograph dances to their poems.

In small groups, the students went to work twisting their bodies in expressions of emotion and landing in poses.

They clearly relished the professional lessons.

"If you need a testimony, you just look at the children's faces," said Roslyn Woodard, a choir teacher. "The children have a lot of ability. With this, they get to refine it with the very best."

Samille Palm, 12, wants to become a professional dancer and has taken dance classes since she was 5.

She has danced ballet, lyrical, hip-hop and praise dance.

When Samille dances, she said, "I put myself in the situation that the song is about." The world around her disappears, she said.

The Alvin Ailey workshops are arranged by the Children's Education Program of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

"Music and dance and theater arts are so removed from the kids nowadays" in the schools, said Sue Buratto, the hall's education director.

The students will see a live performance of Revelations when the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs at Bass Performance Hall this month.

[TexasStooge]

Wreck impedes freeway traffic

By Ben Tinsley, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - Traffic along Interstates 35 and 30 was severely snarled Thursday morning after a wreck involving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer and three other vehicles, police said.

The accident occurred around 7 a.m. at I-35 and Meacham Boulevard. Fort Worth Police Capt. Harry Jones said no one was injured.

"It was a non-injury everyday accident that happened during rush hour ... and it bottled everything up," said Lt. Mark Krey, police spokesman.

[TexasStooge]

Army recruit disqualified over wart

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

DESOTO, Texas - For the first time in nearly five years, the U.S. Army has come up short meeting its monthly quota of recruits.

It's happened two months in a row, and Army officials admit they're concerned.

With that in mind, DeSoto resident Adam Bazaldua wants to know why he was disqualified from joining up because of a simple skin blemish affecting millions of people.

Bazaldua is still serving up Philly cheese steak sandwiches at a deli when he thought he'd be serving his country.

"I see Iraq and I see the people there, and I see that they never see the opportunity that we see every day," Bazaldua said. "I want to be one of those people that make a difference."

With strong motivation, the 18-year-old readied himself for Army boot camp, losing 40 pounds. So, he was stunned when he failed his physical last week in Dallas.

The reason? A wart, smaller than a pea, on his left index finger.

Paperwork confirms that verrucus vulgaris - the medical term for a wart - is why he was disqualified from military service.

The standards of medical fitness for the Army are very specific: warts can eliminate a recruit if they interfere with a useful vocation in civilian life.

In this case, they haven't; Bazaldua said he could even understand it if it was his trigger finger, but he's right-handed.

"The first thing I said was, 'I'll never hold a gun with my left hand,'" he said.

News 8 contacted the Army, as well as officials with the Military Entrance Processing Station that conducted the physical. Because this concerns medical records, both military agencies initially declined comment; Army officials later told News 8 that once the wart is gone, Bazaldua can start from scratch and try to enlist again.

Bazaldua hopes exercising his freedom of speech will change what he calls a senseless military decision. But not even this, he says, can blemish his desire to serve his nation in the Army.

"There's that slim few that want to go and fight for their country, and I happen to be one of them - and look what happens," he said. "In my opinion, it's wrong. A wart can be taken care of within a week."

[TexasStooge]

School security tight after shooting

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police increased security at a Dallas elementary school Friday following a drive-by shooting incident.

Someone in a car shot at a group of people outside Zaragoza Elementary, 4550 Worth Street, about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

"When the suspect stopped the car at the edge of the street, allegedly he stuck his arm out the window with the weapon and began shooting," said Donald Claxton, a spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District.

One person—an employee of the city's Park and Recreation Department—was grazed by a bullet in the leg. He was taken to Baylor Medical Center, treated and released.

The injured man had been attending a meeting at the school.

Investigators said they don't believe this was a random incident, and they think they may know who did it.

Zaragoza serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and has an enrollment of about 750 students.

[TexasStooge]

Trash fines anger Fort Worth residents

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Some Fort Worth residents are angry over fines they have received for the city's new trash cart system.

They have gotten expensive tickets and warnings for not properly storing their carts - and many say the hefty amount they owe isn't fair.

Code Enforcement officers have been going door-to-door in neighborhoods to make sure citizens are complying with the new city trash ordinance.

"They said that we're supposed to have those (carts) out-of-view so you that can't see it from the street," said resident Virginia Sanchez. "I didn't know that."

Sanchez got a warning this time, and 48 hours to move her carts - but next time she'll get a ticket for $307.

David McNatt just got his citation in the mail.

"It's kind of sad," McNatt said. "For good citizens, trying to work hard and take care of their children, take care of their families, that's a large amount of money."

Code enforcement officials said they gave McNatt plenty of time to comply, first with a warning.

"When the officer reinspected the site six days later, the cart was still in violation," said Code Enforcement spokesman Carl Smart.

McNatt said he understands that, but he and others on his block feel $307 is too steep for a trash fine.

News 8 compared it to other municipal fines. Ignoring railroad crossing arms will cost a violator $110, an open container of alcohol will cost $152 and an unrestrained child in a vehicle or running a red light will net a $185 citation. Most feel those are more serious violations, yet leaving a trash cart out trumps them all.

City officials said the fine can be lowered, however, if the violator goes to city court.

"I would advise a violator who received a ticket to go to court, because in a lot of cases the judge is issuing fines of $100 or, in some cases, lower amounts," Smart said.

He said the judge will hear each case and take special circumstances under advisement.

"I don't have a record," McNatt said. "I've never been arrested, and I have to go to court to defend myself?"

But others said they'll heed the initial warning.

"It's expensive, so the best thing is to do what you're told," Sanchez said. "It makes it look nicer too, I'm sure."