News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Royse City school bus overturns

ROYSE CITY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A school bus carrying Royce City junior varsity football players to a game overturned Thursday afternoon. At least a half-dozen students were taken to hospitals.

Royse City Police Chief Tom Shelton said two or three of the players suffered serious head injuries and about a half-dozen suffered minor injuries.

News 8 caremas showed at least eight Royse City players, dressed in their uniforms, lying on the ground nearby and being treated. Ambulances and medical helicopters were at the scene and were ferrying the injured to hospitals in Rowlett and Dallas.

The most seriously injured were flown to Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Students with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance to Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett.

Royse City Superintendent Mike Harris said everyone got off the bus.

"Everyone was walking when they came off the bus," he said. Harris said he thought the helicopter transfers were precautionary. The players are sophomores and juniors, Harris said. He said there are 25 people on the team, but it wasn't clear how many were on the bus.

The 77-passenger bus was carrying about 28 players and coaches to a game with Nevada Community, said Tammi Loveless, transportation secretary for the Royse City School District.

The bus rested on its side on a curve off Farm to Market Road 1777 in rural Collin County, northeast of Dallas.

All injured have been cleared from the scene.

Dallas Morning News Margarita Martin-Hidalgo contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Confessed killer of girl, 9, executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Convicted killer Melvin Wayne White was apologetic and prayerful before his execution tonight over the

death of a nine-year-old neighbor.

White was put to death in Huntsville for the 1997 abduction, sexual assault and beating death of Jennifer Gravell.

In final comments on the death chamber gurney, White told witnesses to tell "Beth and them I am sorry, truly sorry for the pain that I caused your family."

He was referring to the mother of his victim.

"I truly mean that, too. She was a friend of mine and I betrayed her trust."

White told the witnesses that he loved them and asked that they tell his mother that he loved her.

Then, he began reciting the 23rd Psalm, and the Lord's Prayer.

"All right, warden," he said at the conclusion. "Let's give them what they want."

White had blamed a lifelong drinking problem for his attack on the young girl whose family lived two houses away from him.

He was the 16th convicted killer to be executed this year in Texas.

[TexasStooge]

Texas death row inmate escapes in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- A Texas death row inmate has escaped today from the Harris County Jail in Houston.

Authorities say 35-year-old Charles Victor Thompson of Tomball managed to get some civilian clothing and he slipped away.

Thompson was condemned for the 1998 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend -- 39-year-old Dennise Hayslip of Tomball -- and her 30-year-old boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain of Spring.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his 1999 conviction, but had ordered a new sentencing hearing.

Thompson on Friday was sentenced again -- to execution.

Officials say Thompson had been expected to be returned to the Texas prison system within 45 days.

[TexasStooge]

2 sex offenders back behind bars

DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Convicted sex offenders in both Dallas and Fort Worth were arrested this week on charges that they violated terms of their parole on Halloween night, the Texas Attorney General's Office announced Thursday.

Arrested were Robert Earl Simpson Jr., 35, of Dallas and Joe Sanchez Martinez, 49, of Fort Worth. They were among five arrests made as part of Operation Safe Halloween, a special initiative between the attorney general's fugitive unit and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to track down child sex offenders who ignore the instructions of their parole officers.

"These child sex offenders were given specific guidelines to steer them clear of children on Halloween night. They disregarded those instructions," Attorney General Greg Abbott said. "Child predators are a potential threat every day of the year, but we must be extra vigilant at times like Halloween when many children are on the streets."

Warrants accusing Simpson and Martinez of violating Halloween-related curfews were issued Monday. They were being held at separate lockups without bond on the parole violations.

The fugitive unit arrested Simpson Wednesday at his workplace in Farmers Branch. He is accused of being at work Monday night without notifying his parole officer ahead of time. Simpson remained in Farmers Branch City Jail, according to the attorney general's office.

Simpson was convicted in Jefferson County in 1992 of sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Simpson was convicted in Navarro County in 2003 of unlawful possession of metal or body armor by a felon and was sentenced to two years in prison. Simpson was paroled earlier this year on the 2003 conviction.

Martinez, who had was supposed to be in his house between 5 p.m. Halloween night and 5 a.m. the next day, was arrested Tuesday at his Fort Worth home. Martinez was convicted in Bexar County in 1998 of indecency with a 12-year-old girl by sexual contact and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Martinez was paroled in 2002.

Martinez was being held in Tarrant County Jail, the AG's office said.

[TexasStooge]

Cause of condo fire unknown, say police

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - More than 100 residents of a North Dallas condominium complex are salvaging what they can after a four-alarm blaze ripped through their homes early Thursday morning.

Police say they have not determined the cause of the fire which reduced six units of the 5700 block of Phoenix Drive to a skeleton. Sources had earlier suggested that the blaze was the result of arson.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze reported at 3:30 a.m. but six families have been displaced.

“We ran out… we had to run through the fire to get out. I kind of got scratched up and cut up pretty badly,” said Kwionia Mathis.

"I was kind of scared, because whenever I got out, the wall there was already on fire," said Manuel Sandoval, a neighbor whose home was adjacent to the fire. "I was really nervous." Sandoval had to leave his cats behind, but all residents—including a number of small children—were accounted for, and no one was hurt.

“We pretty much lost everything, but all our kids and everything is good. Our dogs are fine,” said Brandie Karnes.

The American Red Cross is helping the displaced tenants.

Some 96 Dallas fire fighters tackled the flames and handled the evacuation of countless residents living nearby.

Investigators say the fire may have started in the car port, possibly in a storage area. They are now looking into who started the fire and why.

[TexasStooge]

15 hurt, 1 in serious condition after bus crash

ROYSE CITY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A school bus carrying Royse City junior varsity football players to a game with Nevada Community overturned Thursday afternoon.

Twenty-seven people were on board when the bus crashed. Out of those 27 aboard, 15 players were hurt and one 16-year-old was listed in serious or critical condition with a head injury.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper said Coach James Willis was driving the bus when he lost control and flipped over on FM 1777, which was about two mile north of Royse City in Collin County.

"He said he felt the right rear tires go off the edge of the roadway," said Trooper Lonny Haschell.

As the bus fell, equipment and players from the left side of the bus tumbled over to the right side.

"It's like eggs in an egg carton...," Haschell said. "If your in that collision your packed in there pretty tightly, and that is how the school bus is designed to function. So, when your going on to the side, yes you are right, they are going to be moved out of their seats."

The most seriously injured were flown to Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Students with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance to Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett.

"I just saw everybody just fall to that side...," said Adam Eacrat, junior varsity football player. "And then...after it happened, I saw my best friend Alex holding his head."

Teammates, who moments before were looking forward to the game that might lead them to an undefeated season, were soon helping their injured friends off the bus.

"So me and Coach Willis helped Justin out of the car, and that was when all the officers and ambulances came up," Eacrat said.

Many players said it happened so quickly they couldn't recall much from the accident.

"...It was like a dream or something," said Kent Collins, an injured football player. "It wasn't right and everyone was screaming."

Many parents rushed to the scene to check on their children after news of the crash spread through cell phones.

"It was hard to experience," said Woody Collins. "But once you got there and you realized they were up and they were talking, everyone was fine."

Three students were taken to Baylor Hospital in Dallas and were all in good condition according to school officials. The 16-year-old who was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, suffering the head injury, is also expected to be okay.

"I believe he is going to be all right," said friend Marcus Tamez. "He'll be all right. I trust in God he will be all right..."

DPS officers marked the road and will return Friday to investigate the cause of the accident.

Dallas Morning News' Margarita Martin-Hidalgo, and WFAA-TV's Dan Ronan and Mary Ann Razzuk contributed to this report


WFAA ABC 8
Rescuers are on the scene of the accident where a school bus has overturned.

[TexasStooge]

Sheriff stubs out employee smoking

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - In Tarrant County, non-smokers scored another victory limiting tobacco use in public.

Starting January first, Sherriff Dee Anderson said all 1,300 sheriff's department employees must stub out the cigarettes and spit out the snuff when they are on the clock.

If they are seen smoking on county time, or in uniform on their own time and even driving to work, they will have to answer to the sheriff.

The sheriff said it is an effort to create a better image and health.

"This is not about personal rights [or] freedoms," Anderson said. "People are free to smoke, chew, [and] dip all they want on their time."

However, he said those types of images aren't the ones he wants to project for his professional law enforcement organization.

Arlington police follow the same policy, and Dallas police can only use tobacco in uniform on breaks. Dallas County Sheriff's Department employees can smoke anytime and anywhere.

[TexasStooge]

Troopers probe Collin County bus wreck

ROYSE CITY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - One high school football player remained hospitalized Friday after a school bus carrying his junior varsity team overturned in Collin County Thursday afternoon.

The bus carrying 25 Royse City High School players and two coaches to a game overturned Thursday afternoon in a Dallas suburb. Television footage showed at least eight players, in uniforms, lying on the ground and being treated.

About a dozen people were taken to hospitals, though everyone was able to walk off the bus. The only player still hospitalized Friday, Alex St. Clair, was in fair condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The bus was on the way to Nevada Community, said Tammi Loveless, transportation secretary for the Royse City School District. It rolled on its right side on a two-lane road without a shoulder in rural Collin County, northeast of Dallas.

"I was just sitting there watching the cows in the pasture go by," said Hunter Dickson, a 15-year-old sophomore. "Next thing I knew the bus was flipped over. I was just saying 'God help me through this.' "

James R. Willis, the coach who was driving, told authorities he was rounding a curve when he felt the back wheels lose traction, said Lonny Haschel, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, which was investigating.

"It was sliding off the road sideways," said Mark Mayo, a 16-year-old sophomore who suffered contusions and had a black eye. "Everybody was screaming all of a sudden."

[TexasStooge]

Police say 3 recent Fort Worth slayings are linked

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - A single handgun has been linked to the recent slayings of three men in Fort Worth, police said.

A ballistics examination found that the same weapon was used in last week's slaying of Mike Silva, 33, and Willie Freeman, 40.

Their bodies were found Oct. 28 in a remote area off Old Weatherford Road in far west Fort Worth.

The third victim, Gilbert Vallejo, 47, was killed Oct. 26 outside the Lady Luck Lounge in the 400 block of S. Jennings.

"We don't think they're gang-related," said Lt. Dean Sullivan, a Fort Worth police spokesman. All three men were shot repeatedly from behind, he said.

Police are looking for the man who fled in Mr. Vallejo's 1987 Chevy Blazer.

[TexasStooge]

Treaty Oak to live on at UTD

University enlists woodworkers' help to make ceremonial staff

By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Jimmie Arledge knit his brows in concentration as he flipped the switch on his band saw and began slicing into a piece of Texas history.

Orange and yellow sparks jumped off the thin, vertical blade as it split a bone-dry piece of timber, revealing a deep crack embedded in a branch of the venerated Treaty Oak tree.

"You never know in any tree what you'll find inside," said Mr. Arledge philosophically, after finding the flaw in the historic oak that legend says shaded Stephen F. Austin in 1824 as he signed a treaty with American Indians.

The Richardson resident will lead a team of local woodworkers in an unusual assignment: They will transform a section of the tree into a mace – or ceremonial staff – that will be used by the University of Texas at Dallas at commencements and formal occasions.

It's a fitting end for a small piece of the Austin tree that was once named America's most perfect live oak. The tree, believed to be several hundred years old, became the focus of media attention in 1989 when it was poisoned and its future hung in the balance. Paul Stedman Cullen, a 46-year-old handyman and former drug addict, was sentenced to nine years in prison for pouring a powerful herbicide around the base of the tree that grows in an Austin park.

To save the giant oak, foresters had to prune a large portion of the tree's 128-foot canopy. Wood trimmed from the tree has been used to make gavels, clocks, chairs, pens and other items. Money raised from the sale of the wood supports tree planting and educational efforts.

"This is the first time I've heard of a university getting some wood for a mace," said Toni Grasso, Treaty Oak Project coordinator for the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

She said the tree has recovered from its ordeal. "It's filled in the area that was cut and produced a batch of acorns," she said. "Nature's resilient."

UTD Associate Provost J. Michael Coleman came up with the idea to obtain a piece of the historic oak for the university's mace. He and a delegation from the school traveled to Austin in March to choose wood for the project.

"We were looking for the straightest wood we could find," said Dr. Coleman, who paid $2,000 for a 60-pound branch and a smaller piece that had been stored in a shed for more than a decade.

To find woodworkers capable of turning the dry wood into a decorative mace, he called a local woodcraft store and was referred to Mr. Arledge, past president of Dallas Area Woodturners, a group of hobbyists who use lathes to shape wood into bowls, vases, toys and sculptures. Mr. Arledge's work has been featured in American Woodturners magazine.

Several members of the group will help with the project, which began this week, when the initial cut revealed a crack runs the length of the 52-inch branch. That imperfection complicates the job, requiring the 39-inch long staff to be pieced together from two lengths of wood instead of one.

The staff was "turned" on a lathe, using forged steel cutting tools to transform angles into smooth, round curves and to create decorative spirals, grooves and furrows.

Club member Roger Smith of Garland is fashioning the round headpiece that will fit on top of the staff and hold the university's seal. A Texas Instruments microchip and a metal disk built at UTD that once flew on a space shuttle mission will also be incorporated into the project, which is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.

Mr. Arledge thinks it's appropriate the university's mace will blend the state's past and future.

"They wanted this mace to have some history," he said. "It's got old wood and high tech."

[TexasStooge]

Experts: Hazing more common in high school

Increased violence noted; awareness of effects seen as key

By BRANDON FORMBY and JEFF MILLER / The Dallas Morning News

FLOWER MOUND, Texas - For weeks, some Flower Mound High students and parents have said what happened at an August wrestling team pool party was typical teenage horseplay.

Sure, boys were held up by fellow students and slapped multiple times in the stomach. There was dunking and roughhousing. But hazing? No way.

Police see things differently. To them, it's clear: Underage boys were hazed that Saturday afternoon on River Bend Trail.

Officials in the Denton County district attorney's office expect to meet Monday – coincidentally the start of wrestling season – to review the criminal cases police filed against a revered head coach and 18 high school students, including three juveniles accused of sexual assault.

Officials in the Lewisville school district this week said some of the boys who have completed their school punishments will be allowed to rejoin the team, although three remain on suspension and are not eligible for reinstatement.

The divide between both sides couldn't be wider. Or more common.

B. Elliot Hopkins, director of educational services for the National Federation of State High School Associations, called hazing among high school students a dirty little secret that's growing nationwide.

"It's becoming more violent," Mr. Hopkins said. "It's more sexual, and it's getting down to a lower grade."

Hazing experts are few, but they say high-profile cases typically split communities, a result they attribute to a lack of education and awareness of what hazing is and what its effects are.

At a Lewisville school board meeting this month, trustees directed district officials to develop a hazing education program for the district's sixth-graders.

The definition of hazing isn't a problem in the Arlington ISD, where a high-profile incident at Lamar High School nine years ago involving football players resulted in a no-tolerance policy.

Athletic director I.C. Little said his high school athletic directors and coaches are reminded not to allow any activity that's a form of initiation or intimidation.

"We consider everything hazing," said Mr. Little, who has been an athletic administrator in Arlington for 14 years. "We don't want anybody singing school songs. We don't want anybody rolling pennies with their nose. Anything."

But some students say some actions that might be considered hazing are harmless.

Nolan Shaw, a senior outside linebacker for Grand Prairie High School, said he equates hazing with practical jokes and not with actions that could seriously hurt someone.

He and teammate Josh McCullar, a senior free safety, said the seniors' treatment of freshmen on the Gophers team doesn't go beyond a little ribbing in the hallways and at practice.

"You might get picked on a little extra," Mr. McCullar said. "Mostly, we just want to let 'em to know what it's like to play football here, the work ethic."

Mr. Shaw, who also starts for the basketball team, said athletes need to be mature to avoid questionable behavior.

Building awareness

The grandmother of one of the Flower Mound accusers likens hazing to sexual harassment. Only when that issue began making headlines, she said, did companies begin to realize that it was a problem faced by many women.

"When it first came out, nobody knew what it was," she said. "Even women had no idea what it really meant."

She would like to see schools build hazing awareness into the curriculum to educate parents and students, which she believes will curb the number and intensity of instances, just as sexual harassment training in companies has.

"Some of those parents at Flower Mound, I think some of them were not aware of what really happens," she said. "I would love for them to talk to a therapist so they can tell them what it does to the child's emotional well-being."

Kay Wayne of Dallas doesn't need to ask a therapist. Her 13-year-old son was a high-achieving kid looking for an academic challenge when she sent him to the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, in the 1990s.

When he came home a few months later, she said her son had a concussion, obscene drawings on his head and a broken soul.

"He was completely thrown off track," she said. "I thought I was giving my son an excellent opportunity, and this is what I got back."

Ms. Wayne said her son was beaten with coat hangers and sexually abused. He made a mark on a calendar every time he was hazed that semester. There were 27 marks.

And he wasn't the only one: Dozens of boys came forward with stories alleging hazing rituals, including beatings and sexual assaults. The allegations drew national media attention and a federal lawsuit against the school.

In the past two years, high-profile incidents that have caught national attention also included sexual elements.

Last year in Donna, Texas, four football team members were charged with attempted sexual assault and misdemeanor assault after hazing incidents. In 2003, three football players at Mepham High School in Bellmore, N.Y., sexually assaulted younger players with broomsticks, pinecones and golf balls.

Norm Pollard, director of counseling and student development at Alfred (N.Y.) University, helped conduct the first study of high school hazing in 2000 after taking a similar look at collegians.

The study found that about 48 percent of high school students surveyed said they were subjected to some sort of hazing. But, it added, most of them didn't perceive the activities as hazing.

"Hazing has a definite purpose in that it's an initiation act of bringing new members into a group that usually involves some form of humiliation or dangerous activity," Dr. Pollard said. "The rookies, the new kids – they make them prove they are worthy of being part of the group."

Experts say one key to identifying hazing is that it's perpetrated by a larger group and is not just three or four students horsing around. And it's not just limited to athletic teams. Just about any group from the marching band to the debate team experiences hazing.

"The fact that there's not a clear understanding of what hazing is, some people don't even know enough to question if it's hazing," said Dr. Brian Crow, an associate professor of sport management at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, who is an expert on the topic.

"I would say that hazing awareness is probably 20 to 30 years behind fraternity and sorority hazing as far as awareness and education," he said.

That lack of awareness is part of a complex problem, experts say, that allows hazing to occur unnoticed by unsuspecting parents, educators and coaches. But Mr. Hopkins said he can't find corporate contributors to fund national education about hazing like he can for other causes.

"We talk about alcohol education or steroid education – anything else," he said. "But no one wants to be associated with hazing. It's not a very attractive subject."

Knowing what it is

Ryan Akers, a senior at the University of Kansas, remembers roughhousing with other boys during his days as a Flower Mound High wrestler. The 2002 grad said teammates often horsed around, the way most boys that age do. In fact, he said he's heard less talk about hazing since going to college than he did in high school.

"I pretty much know what it is – so do most people," Mr. Akers said. "But we never sat down and said this is what it is, this is what you can't do."

Texas is one of 42 states with an anti-hazing law. Enacted in 1987, it initially covered public schools. A new law co-authored by Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, extending jurisdiction over private schools took effect in September.

The football locker room at Plano Senior High School features a hazing warning posted on a wall.

"When they find out that it's literally against the law, it does make an impression on them," said head coach Gerald Brence.

Dr. Susan Lipkins, a psychologist in Port Washington, N.Y., is writing a book about hazing that is to be published next year. She began studying the topic after hearing about the Mepham case, which gained national attention. She found that the victims aren't the only ones affected.

She said the perpetrators experience a disconnect between what they are doing and what they are taught is right and wrong behavior. Once they realize the extent of their actions, they often feel stress and anxiety themselves, especially when faced with school discipline and criminal charges.

Donna school board President Matthew Jones said that while the district doesn't consider hazing a widespread problem there, everyone recognizes the serious repercussions.

"We'd like to consider this an isolated incident, a small group," said Mr. Jones. "But these are crimes against children, and even the perpetrators suffered – [not] going to college, [not] getting scholarships. A lot of lives changed."
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Hazing incidents

Some recent cases involving high school students:

January: A basketball player for Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth said some teammates sexually assaulted him in a motel room in Lubbock during a road trip. The case is still under investigation.

2004: In Donna, Texas, four members of the football team were charged with attempted sexual assault and misdemeanor assault in connection with hazing that took place in August and September 2004. A school board investigation determined that three coaches tried to cover up the incidents. Two of the coaches resigned, and the third, head football coach and athletic director David Evans, was terminated. Mr. Evans has appealed the decision.

2003: Police said three upperclassmen on the football team at Mepham High School in Bellmore, N.Y., sexually assaulted three junior varsity players with broomsticks, pinecones and golf balls during the team's annual preseason training camp in Pennsylvania. The subsequent outcry was so strong that the team's season was canceled. A school district investigation determined that such behavior had become an annual ritual for Mepham's football team.

A jury in Brownsville last November ruled against a former athlete at St. Joseph Academy who filed suit against his school. Manuel Guajardo had alleged St. Joseph fostered an atmosphere that promoted hazing, which led to teammates dunking his head into a hotel toilet during a road trip to San Antonio in 2002.

In the late 1990s, several high schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area made news for hazing incidents.

1999: The principal of Lake Highlands High banned a spirit group from wearing black jerseys that identified members. He said hazing and other violent incidents involving the group had increased in the prior two years.

1998: Thirteen members of the junior varsity baseball team at Fort Worth North Side High were given two-day suspensions and barred from a game after a hazing incident in which they punched and kicked a fellow player who had performed poorly in a game. The 16-year-old victim in that case was also barred from a game after he admitted participating in previous incidents.

1996: Fourteen upperclassmen at Lamar High in Arlington were charged with attacking five sophomores in a hazing incident. Alcohol was involved, and eight of the students were placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. Arlington schools now have a zero-tolerance policy on hazing.

[TexasStooge]

Boy hurt in school bus crash to be released

ROYSE CITY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — One player remains in hospital with a head injury but in a fair condition after a school bus carrying Royse City junior varsity football players to a game with Nevada Community overturned on Thursday.

The 16-year-old, Alex St. Clair, was expected to be released from Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas later on Friday.

Of the 27 players on the bus, two others were still too sore to attend school.

School officials say the crash was an accident and their hearts go out to the team coach, James Willis, who was driving the bus.

"He's a great guy, a great coach... I think he handled it real well. Once it happened, he and the other coach got everyone off the bus and checked everyone was taken care of. I don't think it could have been handled any better," said Mike Harris, Royse City ISD Superintendent.

Grief counselors are at the school to assist any pupils upset by the accident.

The bus lost control and flipped over on FM 1777, about two mile north of Royse City in Collin County.

As the bus fell, equipment and players from the left side of the bus tumbled over to the right side.

"It's like eggs in an egg carton...," Haschell said. "If you are in that collision your packed in there pretty tightly, and that is how the school bus is designed to function. So, when your going on to the side, yes you are right, they are going to be moved out of their seats."

The most seriously injured were flown to Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Students with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance to Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett.

"I just saw everybody just fall to that side...," said Adam Eacrat, junior varsity football player. "And then...after it happened, I saw my best friend Alex holding his head."

Teammates, who moments before were looking forward to the game that might lead them to an undefeated season, were soon helping their injured friends off the bus.

"So me and Coach Willis helped Justin out of the car, and that was when all the officers and ambulances came up," Eacrat said.

Many players said it happened so quickly they couldn't recall much from the accident.

"...It was like a dream or something," said Kent Collins, an injured football player. "It wasn't right and everyone was screaming."

Many parents rushed to the scene to check on their children after news of the crash spread through cell phones.

"It was hard to experience," said Woody Collins. "But once you got there and you realized they were up and they were talking, everyone was fine."

DPS officers are investigating the cause of the accident.

Dallas Morning News' Margarita Martin-Hidalgo, and WFAA-TV's Dan Ronan and Mary Ann Razzuk contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas doctors short of flu vaccine

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - North Texas doctors are running out of flu vaccine and promised shipments have failed to arrive, according to reports.

The Centers for Disease Control insists there is no shortage of the vaccine.

But the Dallas County Department of Health says it has recieved only about a third of the 20,000 doses it ordered while Collin County received about half and Tarrant County is still waiting for at least 3,000 doses.

Many doctors without the vaccine are sending patients to county health departments.

Dallas County handles more than 300 flu patients a day. Traditionally, the authorities have all in flu vaccine in by now.

Health authorities say the absence of the doses is a bad omen.

[TexasStooge]

Suspended Dallas ISD technology chief quits

By PETE SLOVER and TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas Independent School District announced Friday that technology chief Ruben Bohuchot, who was suspended after reports he accepted free and frequent use of a yacht from a district computer vendor, has quit his job.

The district also announced the demotion of two employees – George Sparks, associate superintendent for auxiliary services, and Alden Gaw, division manager of network services – who were connected to the investigation.

Mr. Bohuchot, 56, was put on paid leave in July after The Dallas Morning News reported his use of a boat provided by Micro System Enterprises of Houston. Mr. Bohuchot helped pick out and name the 59-foot Sir Veza II, and its predecessor.

The reports also prompted an FBI investigation, which is still ongoing.

Mr. Buhuchot, a DISD employee since 1999, left the district this week, DISD Spokesman Donald Claxton said Friday.

"We reached an agreement with him, and we separated him from the district," Mr. Claxton said.

Mr. Gaw and Mr. Sparks will return to positions of lesser authority when they return to work Monday, Mr. Claxton said. He added that their new positions would be disclosed then.

The agreement with Mr. Bohuchot, which was not disclosed Friday, will have to be ratified by board trustees, Mr. Claxton said. He added that trustees had supported moving forward to reach an agreement.

Mr. Bohuchot could not be reached for comment, but he and Micro System have insisted that the boat use did not affect the district's technology purchasing decisions.

Micro System is the lead company in a consortium of firms that won a deal potentially worth more than $100 million dollars, negotiated by Mr. Bohuchot.

In addition, The News reported this week, Mr. Bohuchot helped secure a $2 million computer deal, since cancelled by the district, for the consortium. In that case, district purchasing officials complained his actions gave Micro System an unfair, inside track.

The ongoing FBI investigation includes investigators from the U.S. Justice Department task force on E-rate fraud. E-rate is the program paying for the big consortium project at DISD, with federal money.

Mr. Claxton said the closure of the investigation sends a message.

"We took steps to police ourself," he said. "We want to continue to build trust with the public on how we operate the district."

[TexasStooge]

Baylor chooses new president

WACO, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - Baylor University on Friday chose as its new president an alumnus who has led the University of Nevada, Reno since 2001.

John M. Lilley, who earned two bachelor's and a master's degree in music from Baylor in the 1960s, was unanimously approved by the school's board of regents. Lilley will start in January.

Lilley, 66, replaces Bill Underwood, who became interim president in June, five months after Robert B. Sloan Jr. left the post to become the school's chancellor.

Before taking the Reno job, Lilley spent 21 years at Pennsylvania State University in Erie, Pa. He also worked at Kansas State University and Claremont Colleges in California. He earned a doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1971.

Sloan had been Baylor's president since 1995 but in recent years was blamed for rising tuition costs and rifts among professors at the world's largest Baptist university, which has nearly 14,000 students, roughly the same size as the Reno school.

[rainstorm]

Confessed killer of girl, 9, executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Convicted killer Melvin Wayne White was apologetic and prayerful before his execution tonight over the

death of a nine-year-old neighbor.

White was put to death in Huntsville for the 1997 abduction, sexual assault and beating death of Jennifer Gravell.

In final comments on the death chamber gurney, White told witnesses to tell "Beth and them I am sorry, truly sorry for the pain that I caused your family."

He was referring to the mother of his victim.

"I truly mean that, too. She was a friend of mine and I betrayed her trust."

White told the witnesses that he loved them and asked that they tell his mother that he loved her.

Then, he began reciting the 23rd Psalm, and the Lord's Prayer.

"All right, warden," he said at the conclusion. "Let's give them what they want."

White had blamed a lifelong drinking problem for his attack on the young girl whose family lived two houses away from him.

He was the 16th convicted killer to be executed this year in Texas.

good riddance

[TexasStooge]

Three children injured in car crash - one critically

By Dan Ronan / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Three children under the age of five are in hospital following a car accident in central Dallas.

One of the children is reported to be in a critical condition. None of children were wearing seatbelts.

The accident took place on Reunion Boulevard near the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Police say the car was traveling fast and that the driver lost control.

The vehicle became airborne, breaking tree branches 12 foot above the ground.

One of the children was injured when he or she hit their head on the curb or the road.

"The few that were outside came quickly and called the ambulance. They did try to move the child," said Joban Garcia, a witness.

[TexasStooge]

The ripple effect of bad credit

By JEFF BRADY / WFAA ABC 8

Denese Deadmon has ten years' experience in customer service, a suitable resume, and a positive attitude.

But she has no job.

Deadmon has been denied employment—more than once—because of bad credit.

"I'm not denying it, I'm saying that I should be given an opportunity so I can get it straight," she said.

Deadmon is not alone.

Local credit counselors say almost 80 percent of employers now check a potential employee's credit history.

Countrywide Financial turned down Deadmon's job application because of her poor credit.

"It speaks to responsibility," said Bettye Banks of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. "If you've been responsible with regard to your credit, then they may assume—reasonably—that you will be responsible in how you handle your job."

This happens a lot more often than you might think.

We contacted ten North Texas-based companies—including Radio Shack, Wyndham and the Container Store—all of which use credit reports in some form or fashion in personnel matters.

All the companies refused to talk about it on camera.

It doesn't end there.

Business analysts say credit scores also play a role in determining insurance premiums. As many as 92 percent of the 100 largest auto insurers now use credit information to underwrite new business.

In some cases, it can cost the client with poor credit 35 to 40 percent more in premiums.

All of the credit checking is legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but only if the company has the applicant's permission.

And if an applicant is rejected based on a credit check, the company must tell the prospective employee.

You can get a free credit report simply by requesting it at any of the three major credit reporting agencies.

[TexasStooge]

2 dead in jet crash at Houston Hobby

HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A small jet crashed at Hobby Airport Saturday, killing both individuals on board, officials said.

The Cessna Citation 500 was preparing to leave the airport at 10 a.m. CST when its pilot was told to quickly take off because a Southwest Airlines Co. plane with some sort of problem was coming in, Houston Fire Department District Chief Tommy Dowdy said.

The Southwest 737, with 119 passengers, ended up being diverted to the city's other major airport, Bush Intercontinental, where it landed safely. Southwest spokeswoman Ginger Hardage said Flight 422 had departed Hobby for Las Vegas but was forced to return to Houston after a cockpit gauge reported a high oil temperature.

The Citation apparently began experiencing some sort of problem and asked if it could return to Hobby, Dowdy said.

Officials did not immediately know what type of problem the small plane had that forced its return.

"It hit and slid. There was a fire," he said. "This thing tumbled around 300 feet. There was extensive damage. It hit on one of the runways and slid across a grassy area to a parallel runway."

The names of the victims or where they were headed was not immediately known, Dowdy said.

The airport was shut down for about an hour before it resumed operating.

[TexasStooge]

Couple found shot dead in car

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police said robbery may have been the motive in the shooting deaths of two people in East Dallas early Sunday morning.

The victims—a man and a woman—were found dead in a car outside the woman's home in the 400 block of North Fitzhugh Avenue.

Investigators said both had been shot at close range.

The woman's mother reportedly heard the shots at 4:30 a.m. and looked outside. She flagged down police, who were just arriving at the scene.

Detectives questioned family members and neighbors, but no arrests had been made.

Identities of the victims were not released.