Farmers Branch police chief suspended over comments
By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - Farmers Branch Police Chief Jimmy Fawcett has been suspended for 10 days without pay for making inappropriate comments about people of Vietnamese heritage last month in front of six officers who had convened to interview job applicants.
The suspension started Thursday. The chief also will be required to continue organizational counseling that began last month, two weeks after the comments were made.
The incident has prompted the city to review the department’s hiring practices, according to a written statement from the city.
The chief acknowledged making the comment, the statement said.
Chief Fawcett is a 32-year department veteran, and has been chief for 15 years. He had a previously unblemished record, the city said.
He did not return phone calls this week seeking comment.
A complaint about the comment was filed with the city’s Human Resources department on Dec. 14, the same day six job applicants were to face the oral interview board, comprised of department employees ranging from patrol officer to deputy chief. One of those applicants was of Vietnamese heritage.
None of the applicants was in the room at the time, according to the city’s statement.
News from the Lone Star State
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Houston woman's 4-year-old shows up on 'no-fly' list
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Sijollie Allen isn't the first mother to have travel plans delayed because of a 4-year-old son.
But the fact that her holiday flights were gummed up because little Edward Allen's name shows up on a government terrorist watch list has the Houston woman confused and a bit angry.
"Is this a joke?" she recalled telling Continental Airlines agents Dec. 21 at Bush Intercontinental Airport. "You can tell he's not a terrorist."
Sijollie Allen, a Jamaican immigrant, said she doesn't understand why her American-born son should have to deal with this each time he travels just because he shares his name with a much older individual who is on the list.
"I know the government is trying to protect because of the terrorist attacks, but common sense should play a role in it," she said. "I don't think he should go through the trouble of being harassed and hindered."
On their Dec. 26 flight back home from New York's La Guardia Airport, she said it took several minutes of pleading and a phone call by the ticket agent to finally get on the plane. She said a ticket agent told her, "You're lucky that we're letting you through instead of putting you through the other process."
Continental Airlines did not return several telephone messages left by the Associated Press.
The Transportation Security Administration's "no-fly" list was established immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to prevent people who may have terrorist ties from boarding commercial flights.
Among people with common names who have encountered problems at airports are U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., U.S. Rep. John Lewis D-Ga., and actor David Nelson from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
Kennedy has said he had to make several calls to federal officials before his name was separated from the one on the list.
A TSA spokeswoman said the agency tells airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 or select them for extra security checks even if their names match ones on the list.
"We do not require ID for children because there are no children on the list," said Carrie Harmon, a regional TSA spokeswoman. "If it's a child, ticket agents have the authority to immediately deselect them."
Sijollie Allen said she and her son are both hoping more agents heed that advice.
"My son said to me: 'I don't want to be on the list. I want to fly and see my grandma,' " she said.
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Sijollie Allen isn't the first mother to have travel plans delayed because of a 4-year-old son.
But the fact that her holiday flights were gummed up because little Edward Allen's name shows up on a government terrorist watch list has the Houston woman confused and a bit angry.
"Is this a joke?" she recalled telling Continental Airlines agents Dec. 21 at Bush Intercontinental Airport. "You can tell he's not a terrorist."
Sijollie Allen, a Jamaican immigrant, said she doesn't understand why her American-born son should have to deal with this each time he travels just because he shares his name with a much older individual who is on the list.
"I know the government is trying to protect because of the terrorist attacks, but common sense should play a role in it," she said. "I don't think he should go through the trouble of being harassed and hindered."
On their Dec. 26 flight back home from New York's La Guardia Airport, she said it took several minutes of pleading and a phone call by the ticket agent to finally get on the plane. She said a ticket agent told her, "You're lucky that we're letting you through instead of putting you through the other process."
Continental Airlines did not return several telephone messages left by the Associated Press.
The Transportation Security Administration's "no-fly" list was established immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to prevent people who may have terrorist ties from boarding commercial flights.
Among people with common names who have encountered problems at airports are U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., U.S. Rep. John Lewis D-Ga., and actor David Nelson from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
Kennedy has said he had to make several calls to federal officials before his name was separated from the one on the list.
A TSA spokeswoman said the agency tells airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 or select them for extra security checks even if their names match ones on the list.
"We do not require ID for children because there are no children on the list," said Carrie Harmon, a regional TSA spokeswoman. "If it's a child, ticket agents have the authority to immediately deselect them."
Sijollie Allen said she and her son are both hoping more agents heed that advice.
"My son said to me: 'I don't want to be on the list. I want to fly and see my grandma,' " she said.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Teen paralyzed by alleged racist moves on
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
While the alleged racist who put Dennis Scales in a wheelchair is in prison in Oklahoma serving a life sentence, Scales, a former high school football star, has been struggling to move on.
However, Scale seems to be winning that battle.
Scales was all speed when he starred for Skyline High, but his promising college career was cut short near the rural Oklahoma college where he had earned a full scholarship.
The alleged racist crashed his pickup into a truck packed with Scales and his teammates.
Back in July, Scales was stuck in bed in his tiny room at home and was unable to use his high tech wheel chair.
And while he needs help to move every limb, Scales won't let paralysis slow him down and his life has taken a dramatically positive turn.
Scales can now navigate an obstacle course in his high tech wheelchair that he steers with head movements. After two months of therapy at Health South, he's the inspirational patient many said they almost hate to see leave.
"I think he's gonna do great things, I mean he has so much potential," said Kristy Livingston, physical therapist.
While scales was in the hospital, crews from Habitat for Humanity built a new addition to his South Dallas home that was complete with a wheel chair ramp, an outdoor deck and an oversized shower.
He also came home to a grateful mother, Danae Livingston, who said only a complete recovery could make her happier.
"There is always a prayer, one more prayer that will be answered, and so far we've had so many prayers that have been answered," Livingston said.
Scales said he is just happy about his new room.
"I just like I can get all my friends in here," he said.
Surrounded by friends and family, scales said he is looking ahead.
"In college my major was engineering," he said. "I really want to further my education in that."
His online education is set to stars soon.
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
While the alleged racist who put Dennis Scales in a wheelchair is in prison in Oklahoma serving a life sentence, Scales, a former high school football star, has been struggling to move on.
However, Scale seems to be winning that battle.
Scales was all speed when he starred for Skyline High, but his promising college career was cut short near the rural Oklahoma college where he had earned a full scholarship.
The alleged racist crashed his pickup into a truck packed with Scales and his teammates.
Back in July, Scales was stuck in bed in his tiny room at home and was unable to use his high tech wheel chair.
And while he needs help to move every limb, Scales won't let paralysis slow him down and his life has taken a dramatically positive turn.
Scales can now navigate an obstacle course in his high tech wheelchair that he steers with head movements. After two months of therapy at Health South, he's the inspirational patient many said they almost hate to see leave.
"I think he's gonna do great things, I mean he has so much potential," said Kristy Livingston, physical therapist.
While scales was in the hospital, crews from Habitat for Humanity built a new addition to his South Dallas home that was complete with a wheel chair ramp, an outdoor deck and an oversized shower.
He also came home to a grateful mother, Danae Livingston, who said only a complete recovery could make her happier.
"There is always a prayer, one more prayer that will be answered, and so far we've had so many prayers that have been answered," Livingston said.
Scales said he is just happy about his new room.
"I just like I can get all my friends in here," he said.
Surrounded by friends and family, scales said he is looking ahead.
"In college my major was engineering," he said. "I really want to further my education in that."
His online education is set to stars soon.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
McKinney shooting leaves two dead
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - A shooting outside the Medical Center of McKinney has left two people dead.
The incident took place just after 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Police say the shooting was the result of a domestic dispute.
Witnesses said a woman was assaulted in a car, then got out of the car, and ran across the street to get away from the man pursuing her.
That man then got out a gun and shot the woman and himself dead.
Police say a female friend of the woman was hit by flying glass but her wounds are superficial. She is being treated at the Medical Center of McKinney.
Investigators also say there is no connection between the incident and the medical center, other than it took place nearby.
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - A shooting outside the Medical Center of McKinney has left two people dead.
The incident took place just after 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Police say the shooting was the result of a domestic dispute.
Witnesses said a woman was assaulted in a car, then got out of the car, and ran across the street to get away from the man pursuing her.
That man then got out a gun and shot the woman and himself dead.
Police say a female friend of the woman was hit by flying glass but her wounds are superficial. She is being treated at the Medical Center of McKinney.
Investigators also say there is no connection between the incident and the medical center, other than it took place nearby.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Neighbors join police to battle crime
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Chief Kunkle has always said officers can't fight crime alone, and in many areas neighbors have stepped up and joined forces with law officers.
The Pleasant Grove area around the 900 block of Lufkin is one such area that has been keeping an eye on crime. The area was once known as one of the highest crime areas in the city.
Cindy Orshonsky said she is ready to keep a watch on crime while she is armed with a camera.
"I am here to get the evidence, hopefully with a picture and an eyewitness," Orshonsky said.
Orshonsky said most of her neighbors have been burglarized in the past few years. But recently, the neighborhood has been working closely with police, and for the first they are seeing crime drop.
"I have seen no break-ins happening whatsoever,"
The Dallas Police Department has been focusing on Pleasant Grove in Southeast Dallas with its elite Operation Disruption team, who are officers who go into troubled areas to help clean it up. Throughout the year 2005, Southeast saw a 5 percent decrease in crime.
However, that didn't stop Bonnie Mathias' house to be targeted twice by burglars.
"They took a shot gun, which is scary because what if I had walked in when they were there and would have shot me," Mathias said.
Still, over the last few months she too said she has seen a big improvement.
Yes, it is getting better, much better," she said.
Mathias and Orshonsky said they are not declaring victory yet and are still keeping their eyes open.
"We just want to have some pride in our neighborhood because we don't need this kind of stuff happening here," Orshonsky said.
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Chief Kunkle has always said officers can't fight crime alone, and in many areas neighbors have stepped up and joined forces with law officers.
The Pleasant Grove area around the 900 block of Lufkin is one such area that has been keeping an eye on crime. The area was once known as one of the highest crime areas in the city.
Cindy Orshonsky said she is ready to keep a watch on crime while she is armed with a camera.
"I am here to get the evidence, hopefully with a picture and an eyewitness," Orshonsky said.
Orshonsky said most of her neighbors have been burglarized in the past few years. But recently, the neighborhood has been working closely with police, and for the first they are seeing crime drop.
"I have seen no break-ins happening whatsoever,"
The Dallas Police Department has been focusing on Pleasant Grove in Southeast Dallas with its elite Operation Disruption team, who are officers who go into troubled areas to help clean it up. Throughout the year 2005, Southeast saw a 5 percent decrease in crime.
However, that didn't stop Bonnie Mathias' house to be targeted twice by burglars.
"They took a shot gun, which is scary because what if I had walked in when they were there and would have shot me," Mathias said.
Still, over the last few months she too said she has seen a big improvement.
Yes, it is getting better, much better," she said.
Mathias and Orshonsky said they are not declaring victory yet and are still keeping their eyes open.
"We just want to have some pride in our neighborhood because we don't need this kind of stuff happening here," Orshonsky said.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
121's main drag: the paperwork
Road headed for early finish; wait for toll approval may delay opening
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
CARROLLTON, Texas – The new State Highway 121 toll road in Denton County could be ready by spring, but motorists may be barred by something stronger than concrete and steel – red tape.
Months of extremely dry weather have helped workers finish 90 percent to 94 percent of six new miles of Highway 121, putting crews on a pace to possibly finish a month or two ahead of the June completion dates.
That rate of progress, however, would outpace the receipt of required federal approvals to collect tolls on the road.
If that happens, the road may sit unused for up to two months.
"We don't want to be in a position of having something closed and not having the public use it," said Bob Brown, deputy district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation's Dallas office. "We're trying to make sure that doesn't happen."
But if the road opening is delayed, he added, "it may be a little pain now, but there will be many benefits later."
Regional leaders have a long-standing policy stipulating that any road that opens without tolls cannot be converted to a toll road. Such a conversion would also require countywide approval in an election.
In addition, state officials are concerned that opening Highway 121 without tolls could lead to legal challenges if tolls were added.
State and federal officials approved the Highway 121 project years ago, but only for a road without tolls. Construction began on the first segment in 2003, but state and regional leaders agreed in October 2004 to collect tolls on the new stretch of highway to help pay for other projects, including work on Interstate 35E in southern Denton County and FM423 in Lewisville.
The 2004 decision created the need for additional federal approval. At the earliest, federal consent would come in the first part of May, and construction of electronic tolling equipment would then take a couple of weeks, Mr. Brown said.
But no matter when construction is complete, the Texas Department of Transportation is not planning to open Highway 121 early if it does not have approval for tolls.
"That's not nice. At least they could let us try it out," said Crystal Chiles of Carrollton, who uses the existing Highway 121 frontage roads frequently.
In the realm of multiyear construction projects, a delay of two months is not a big concern, said Sam Daniel of Carrollton.
"I'm open to waiting until all approvals have been made," he said. The road "is not too bad. I travel it quite a bit. But I don't get out in traffic until everyone else is already at work."
As required by federal officials, the state Transportation Department has scheduled two public hearings for this month on the proposed tolls on Highway 121. The state must address each public comment made at the meetings and submit its answers to federal officials, who hopefully will finish reviewing the paperwork and have an answer by early May, Mr. Brown said.
According to the most recent estimates, the 3.3-mile Highway 121 segment around the Interstate 35E interchange is about 90 percent complete. Work on that part, which began in May 2003, is expected to cost $87 million.
The second part, a 2.6-mile, $31 million segment from near Hebron Parkway to near The Colony's city limit, is about 94 percent complete. Work began in February 2004.
A third section, from The Colony to the Dallas North Tollway, is not scheduled for completion until early 2008.
The construction pace would have the first highway sections open to almost 50,000 vehicles a day in March or April, but state transportation planners are predicting that they will not be ready before June.
Collin County officials, the state and the North Texas Tollway Authority are still working out the details of a Highway 121 toll road from the Dallas North Tollway to Central Expressway. That segment is expected to be open by 2010.
Just as dry weather has helped the project get ahead of schedule, wet weather and the challenges of finishing all the details on six miles and $118 million in new highways could slow the project's current rapid pace, said Denton County Commissioner Cynthia White.
"When it comes to construction, you never know," she said. "But the bottom line is, TxDOT is going to do what it's got to do."
Road headed for early finish; wait for toll approval may delay opening
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
CARROLLTON, Texas – The new State Highway 121 toll road in Denton County could be ready by spring, but motorists may be barred by something stronger than concrete and steel – red tape.
Months of extremely dry weather have helped workers finish 90 percent to 94 percent of six new miles of Highway 121, putting crews on a pace to possibly finish a month or two ahead of the June completion dates.
That rate of progress, however, would outpace the receipt of required federal approvals to collect tolls on the road.
If that happens, the road may sit unused for up to two months.
"We don't want to be in a position of having something closed and not having the public use it," said Bob Brown, deputy district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation's Dallas office. "We're trying to make sure that doesn't happen."
But if the road opening is delayed, he added, "it may be a little pain now, but there will be many benefits later."
Regional leaders have a long-standing policy stipulating that any road that opens without tolls cannot be converted to a toll road. Such a conversion would also require countywide approval in an election.
In addition, state officials are concerned that opening Highway 121 without tolls could lead to legal challenges if tolls were added.
State and federal officials approved the Highway 121 project years ago, but only for a road without tolls. Construction began on the first segment in 2003, but state and regional leaders agreed in October 2004 to collect tolls on the new stretch of highway to help pay for other projects, including work on Interstate 35E in southern Denton County and FM423 in Lewisville.
The 2004 decision created the need for additional federal approval. At the earliest, federal consent would come in the first part of May, and construction of electronic tolling equipment would then take a couple of weeks, Mr. Brown said.
But no matter when construction is complete, the Texas Department of Transportation is not planning to open Highway 121 early if it does not have approval for tolls.
"That's not nice. At least they could let us try it out," said Crystal Chiles of Carrollton, who uses the existing Highway 121 frontage roads frequently.
In the realm of multiyear construction projects, a delay of two months is not a big concern, said Sam Daniel of Carrollton.
"I'm open to waiting until all approvals have been made," he said. The road "is not too bad. I travel it quite a bit. But I don't get out in traffic until everyone else is already at work."
As required by federal officials, the state Transportation Department has scheduled two public hearings for this month on the proposed tolls on Highway 121. The state must address each public comment made at the meetings and submit its answers to federal officials, who hopefully will finish reviewing the paperwork and have an answer by early May, Mr. Brown said.
According to the most recent estimates, the 3.3-mile Highway 121 segment around the Interstate 35E interchange is about 90 percent complete. Work on that part, which began in May 2003, is expected to cost $87 million.
The second part, a 2.6-mile, $31 million segment from near Hebron Parkway to near The Colony's city limit, is about 94 percent complete. Work began in February 2004.
A third section, from The Colony to the Dallas North Tollway, is not scheduled for completion until early 2008.
The construction pace would have the first highway sections open to almost 50,000 vehicles a day in March or April, but state transportation planners are predicting that they will not be ready before June.
Collin County officials, the state and the North Texas Tollway Authority are still working out the details of a Highway 121 toll road from the Dallas North Tollway to Central Expressway. That segment is expected to be open by 2010.
Just as dry weather has helped the project get ahead of schedule, wet weather and the challenges of finishing all the details on six miles and $118 million in new highways could slow the project's current rapid pace, said Denton County Commissioner Cynthia White.
"When it comes to construction, you never know," she said. "But the bottom line is, TxDOT is going to do what it's got to do."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Divorced couple at center of murder-suicide
MCKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police said a deadly shooting involving a recently divorced couple Thursday afternoon at the Medical Center of McKinney on Medical Center Drive in Collin County appeared to be a murder-suicide.
Investigators said they believe the murder was a domestic incident and occurred after the former spouses agreed to meet in the area to settle a dispute over bill money.
Crystal Benavidez, 35, was in the car with her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend when her 54-year-old ex-husband, Josely M. Benavidez, got out of a Ford Explorer and open fired on the car.
"Well, at first I hear a single shot that I thought was a backfire," said witness Brian Rodgers.
A pharmaceutical sales representative, Rodgers was going to meet with a doctor across from the scene of the crime.
"I heard multiple gunshots, saw a cloud of smoke go into the sky and heard lots of screaming and yelling," he said. "I saw some people running from the parking lot."
"The female victim got out of the car and started to run," said Capt. Randy Roland, a McKinney police spokesperson. "Our suspect fired some shots at the victim, followed her on basically the lawn of the hospital and shot her where she died."
Police said the woman's ex-husband then shot himself.
Officers found two guns at the scene and witnesses said they saw Josely Benavidez use both weapons.
Crystal Benavidez's roommate was either hit by flying glass or was grazed by a bullet, was treated at the hospital and released Thursday night, police said.
Sources said the victim had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth to get away from her ex-husband. Soon after her move, police said calls began to come into the police department.
"We had several 911 calls to our location and we have gone out and taken reports," Capt. Roland said. "All of the information we gained was that he had been threatening over the phone. He had never actually come to McKinney and caused any harm to her."
The victim had never pursued getting a restraining order, but she had let police know that her ex-husband had threatened her in detail.
"The types [of calls that say], 'seriously bodily injury, I am going to get you, I can't believe you left me'" Roland said. "Those were the types of calls. [They] were enough of a threat that she called the police department."
The same McKinney hospital was the site for a similar shooting two and a half years ago.
A former Allen firefighter, Raymond Wingfield, went to a parking lot in the same area and opened fire on his wife, Amy Wingfield, and her friend, Lisa Stewart, who were both nurses at the hospital. While Stewart survived her wounds, Amy Wingfield's injuries proved fatal.
Wingfield was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
News 8's Dan Ronan and WFAA.com's Marjorie Owens contributed to this report
MCKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police said a deadly shooting involving a recently divorced couple Thursday afternoon at the Medical Center of McKinney on Medical Center Drive in Collin County appeared to be a murder-suicide.
Investigators said they believe the murder was a domestic incident and occurred after the former spouses agreed to meet in the area to settle a dispute over bill money.
Crystal Benavidez, 35, was in the car with her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend when her 54-year-old ex-husband, Josely M. Benavidez, got out of a Ford Explorer and open fired on the car.
"Well, at first I hear a single shot that I thought was a backfire," said witness Brian Rodgers.
A pharmaceutical sales representative, Rodgers was going to meet with a doctor across from the scene of the crime.
"I heard multiple gunshots, saw a cloud of smoke go into the sky and heard lots of screaming and yelling," he said. "I saw some people running from the parking lot."
"The female victim got out of the car and started to run," said Capt. Randy Roland, a McKinney police spokesperson. "Our suspect fired some shots at the victim, followed her on basically the lawn of the hospital and shot her where she died."
Police said the woman's ex-husband then shot himself.
Officers found two guns at the scene and witnesses said they saw Josely Benavidez use both weapons.
Crystal Benavidez's roommate was either hit by flying glass or was grazed by a bullet, was treated at the hospital and released Thursday night, police said.
Sources said the victim had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth to get away from her ex-husband. Soon after her move, police said calls began to come into the police department.
"We had several 911 calls to our location and we have gone out and taken reports," Capt. Roland said. "All of the information we gained was that he had been threatening over the phone. He had never actually come to McKinney and caused any harm to her."
The victim had never pursued getting a restraining order, but she had let police know that her ex-husband had threatened her in detail.
"The types [of calls that say], 'seriously bodily injury, I am going to get you, I can't believe you left me'" Roland said. "Those were the types of calls. [They] were enough of a threat that she called the police department."
The same McKinney hospital was the site for a similar shooting two and a half years ago.
A former Allen firefighter, Raymond Wingfield, went to a parking lot in the same area and opened fire on his wife, Amy Wingfield, and her friend, Lisa Stewart, who were both nurses at the hospital. While Stewart survived her wounds, Amy Wingfield's injuries proved fatal.
Wingfield was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
News 8's Dan Ronan and WFAA.com's Marjorie Owens contributed to this report
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Battlefield on the canvas
Irving: Gallery to feature military-inspired art by Vietnam veteran
By JEREMY ROEBUCK / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - A bloodied Marine steps out of the swirling sand – his weapon slung over his shoulder and steely resolve in his eye. With lips pressed tight, the young soldier stares off into the Iraqi desert.
The framed scene on Gary Morris' easel began as a colored-pencil sketch. But after the death of 2nd Lt. J.P. Blecksmith during combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq, the 63-year-old Irving artist dedicated his work to the young Marine, who reminded him of his own days in Vietnam.
"I was not ready for this death," Mr. Morris said. "I had already started working on a Marine in Iraq, but when I woke up the next morning, I decided to change it to a Marine in Fallujah and dedicate it to J.P."
Mr. Morris presented the painting on Monday to soldiers with the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., who were preparing to ship out to Iraq. The Irving Arts Center will display a print of the work, along with several of Mr. Morris' colored-pencil sketches, starting Saturday.
"We expect it to be a very popular show," gallery director Marcie Inman said. "His subject matter is pretty focused on the military [and] makes it especially timely."
From a profile of an eagle with a pencil stroke for each U.S. soldier to die in Vietnam to baseball players caught midswing, Mr. Morris' work captures fleeting moments of repose amid distinct actions.
Mr. Morris got his start as an artist during one such moment in 1974. While he was on active duty in Florida, a mural of six stacked A-4 Skyhawks flying during a rainstorm caught his eye.
"I sketched the configuration on a napkin in hopes of finding an artist in Texas who could recreate it," he said. "I eventually completed it myself."
Mr. Morris considers the portrait dedicated to Lt. Blecksmith, whom he met at a boot camp reunion in Quantico, Va., one of his finest works. The young Marine from San Marino, Calif., left an impression on the retired lieutenant colonel.
"He was just a very impressive young soldier," Mr. Morris said. "Just gung-ho and ready to get his platoon and head west."
When news came of the Marine's death in the November 2004 assault on Fallujah, Mr. Morris set to work. Sketching from a photo taken of a Marine minutes after killing several Iraqi insurgents, Mr. Morris struggled to capture Lt. Blecksmith's spirit.
"He had to look like he was thinking, 'By God, I'm going to kill someone,' " he said. "I'm proud of the way it turned out."
The portrait will permanently hang in the museum at Camp Pendleton, where Lt. Blecksmith was based.
"I wanted my art to show people that feeling when the first round hits the building next to you," he said. "Life literally changes."
Jeremy Roebuck is a Dallas-based freelance writer.
Irving: Gallery to feature military-inspired art by Vietnam veteran
By JEREMY ROEBUCK / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - A bloodied Marine steps out of the swirling sand – his weapon slung over his shoulder and steely resolve in his eye. With lips pressed tight, the young soldier stares off into the Iraqi desert.
The framed scene on Gary Morris' easel began as a colored-pencil sketch. But after the death of 2nd Lt. J.P. Blecksmith during combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq, the 63-year-old Irving artist dedicated his work to the young Marine, who reminded him of his own days in Vietnam.
"I was not ready for this death," Mr. Morris said. "I had already started working on a Marine in Iraq, but when I woke up the next morning, I decided to change it to a Marine in Fallujah and dedicate it to J.P."
Mr. Morris presented the painting on Monday to soldiers with the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., who were preparing to ship out to Iraq. The Irving Arts Center will display a print of the work, along with several of Mr. Morris' colored-pencil sketches, starting Saturday.
"We expect it to be a very popular show," gallery director Marcie Inman said. "His subject matter is pretty focused on the military [and] makes it especially timely."
From a profile of an eagle with a pencil stroke for each U.S. soldier to die in Vietnam to baseball players caught midswing, Mr. Morris' work captures fleeting moments of repose amid distinct actions.
Mr. Morris got his start as an artist during one such moment in 1974. While he was on active duty in Florida, a mural of six stacked A-4 Skyhawks flying during a rainstorm caught his eye.
"I sketched the configuration on a napkin in hopes of finding an artist in Texas who could recreate it," he said. "I eventually completed it myself."
Mr. Morris considers the portrait dedicated to Lt. Blecksmith, whom he met at a boot camp reunion in Quantico, Va., one of his finest works. The young Marine from San Marino, Calif., left an impression on the retired lieutenant colonel.
"He was just a very impressive young soldier," Mr. Morris said. "Just gung-ho and ready to get his platoon and head west."
When news came of the Marine's death in the November 2004 assault on Fallujah, Mr. Morris set to work. Sketching from a photo taken of a Marine minutes after killing several Iraqi insurgents, Mr. Morris struggled to capture Lt. Blecksmith's spirit.
"He had to look like he was thinking, 'By God, I'm going to kill someone,' " he said. "I'm proud of the way it turned out."
The portrait will permanently hang in the museum at Camp Pendleton, where Lt. Blecksmith was based.
"I wanted my art to show people that feeling when the first round hits the building next to you," he said. "Life literally changes."
Jeremy Roebuck is a Dallas-based freelance writer.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Civil war erupts over Confederate handbags
By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8
BURLESON, Texas — Two North Texas high school students who were kicked out of class for displaying rebel flags vow to take their fight to court. They said they are proud of their heritage, but Burleson High School education officials maintain the Confederate symbol is offensive.
Ashley Thomas remembered how it all started. "Principal comes up and says, 'You've got to get rid of your purse... it's racist."
Ashley and Aubrie McAllum both received purses patterened after the Confederate battle flag from their parents for Christmas. Both girls decided to take their presents to school.
"I don't have 'KKK' written on me or anything; it's just a purse," Aubrie said. "Doesn't have anything to do with what color you are."
The students were asked to leave their purses with the principal; they elected to leave school after calling their parents.
Ashley was sent home three times this week. "I'm at the point where I really don't know what to do," she said. "I want to keep going to school and get my education, but this is my life. I was born and raised in the South. Why is the flag so bad?"
Here's the answer, from Burleson ISD spokesman Richard Crummel: "It's a violation of the dress code," he said. "We don't want students to wear anything that might cause a disruption, and that symbol has done that in the past."
"Then that's a heritage violation on her, on me... on all of us," said Aubrie's father, Rick McAllum. "So we can push it."
McAllum belongs to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Ashley's mom, Joni Thomas, is from New York. But the parents of both girls praised their daughters, and vowed to fight.
"I'm hiring a lawyer," Thomas said. "I'm going all the way with it, because I think it's wrong."
Burleson High School, with a 2,200 student enrollment, is about 90 percent white, 8 or 9 percent Hispanic. There are very few African Americans.
"We want to be sensitive to everyone; make it comfortable in school for all our students," Crummel said.
Both girls said they have never been in trouble and don't want trouble now.
But they don't want to back down, either.
School officials know controversy often follows the Confederate flag, and they will not let it in.
By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8
BURLESON, Texas — Two North Texas high school students who were kicked out of class for displaying rebel flags vow to take their fight to court. They said they are proud of their heritage, but Burleson High School education officials maintain the Confederate symbol is offensive.
Ashley Thomas remembered how it all started. "Principal comes up and says, 'You've got to get rid of your purse... it's racist."
Ashley and Aubrie McAllum both received purses patterened after the Confederate battle flag from their parents for Christmas. Both girls decided to take their presents to school.
"I don't have 'KKK' written on me or anything; it's just a purse," Aubrie said. "Doesn't have anything to do with what color you are."
The students were asked to leave their purses with the principal; they elected to leave school after calling their parents.
Ashley was sent home three times this week. "I'm at the point where I really don't know what to do," she said. "I want to keep going to school and get my education, but this is my life. I was born and raised in the South. Why is the flag so bad?"
Here's the answer, from Burleson ISD spokesman Richard Crummel: "It's a violation of the dress code," he said. "We don't want students to wear anything that might cause a disruption, and that symbol has done that in the past."
"Then that's a heritage violation on her, on me... on all of us," said Aubrie's father, Rick McAllum. "So we can push it."
McAllum belongs to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Ashley's mom, Joni Thomas, is from New York. But the parents of both girls praised their daughters, and vowed to fight.
"I'm hiring a lawyer," Thomas said. "I'm going all the way with it, because I think it's wrong."
Burleson High School, with a 2,200 student enrollment, is about 90 percent white, 8 or 9 percent Hispanic. There are very few African Americans.
"We want to be sensitive to everyone; make it comfortable in school for all our students," Crummel said.
Both girls said they have never been in trouble and don't want trouble now.
But they don't want to back down, either.
School officials know controversy often follows the Confederate flag, and they will not let it in.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Newborn baby found in toilet at Parkland
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/DallasNews.com) - A newborn boy was in stable condition Friday after he was found in a toilet overnight at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said.
The baby's condition was upgraded from critical once he began breathing on his own, Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said.
The infant was found around 3 a.m. after a woman had gone into the restroom. Witnesses told officials that when the woman came out of the restroom, she left the hospital with a man.
About ten minutes later, the newborn was found in a toilet, Geron said.
Officials are concerned that the woman who gave birth to the child could be in critical condition and may need treatment.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/DallasNews.com) - A newborn boy was in stable condition Friday after he was found in a toilet overnight at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said.
The baby's condition was upgraded from critical once he began breathing on his own, Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said.
The infant was found around 3 a.m. after a woman had gone into the restroom. Witnesses told officials that when the woman came out of the restroom, she left the hospital with a man.
About ten minutes later, the newborn was found in a toilet, Geron said.
Officials are concerned that the woman who gave birth to the child could be in critical condition and may need treatment.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
AP classes keep districts on toes
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Kevin Finn teaches the rise of Napoleon in a day and the colonization of Latin America in three.
The world history teacher at Highland Park High School would love to spend more time on such meaty topics, but it's not an option. He has just several months to prepare more than 100 sophomores for what he says will probably be the toughest test of their high school careers: the Advanced Placement world history exam.
"We usually cover a chapter every two to three days," Mr. Finn said. "They do about nine to 10 pages of reading a night. The first six weeks, they're stunned" at the workload.
It's not just AP students facing the strain, though.
With more students opting for the fast-paced, college-level curriculum, districts must ensure teachers have the training and materials needed to instruct high-performing students.
That costs money, something local districts aren't exactly swimming in.
The curriculum's growth has also led the program this year to issue its first standards for AP teachers.
Though costs vary by course and school, AP programs can be expensive because teachers need textbooks, graphics and workbooks that are relevant and up to date.
They also need to be well-versed in technology like graphing calculators and the Internet so they can demonstrate it for their students, said Susan Harris, director of AP summer institutes at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
A review of several dozen upcoming College Board-approved training sessions showed that costs range from $90 a day to $345 for a two-day social studies workshop.
A five-day summer institute for AP chemistry teachers at the University of Texas at Tyler costs $425, not including housing, meals or transportation costs.
There are more than 110,000 AP educators worldwide, approximately 10,000 more than three years ago, according to the College Board, the nonprofit organization that oversees the program.
No area districts contacted track the total number of sections each school offers on a year-by-year basis or the number of instructors teaching AP courses. However, they all said the teachers and sections have increased alongside student participation.
In the 2003-04 school year, 101,115 Texas students participated in the program, compared with 51,228 students in the 1998-99 school year, according to the College Board.
In Highland Park, approximately a fifth of the school's 126 teachers teach nothing but pre-AP or AP classes. In content areas such as English and social studies, the school now offers more sections of AP and pre-AP classes than standard ones, said Marta Gott, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction.
Ms. Gott said the school hasn't needed to hire more than a few additional teachers to cover the demand because students have shifted from non-AP classes to the college-preparatory ones. Plano, Dallas and Richardson district officials said they add teachers only when a school's enrollment jumps enough to warrant it.
District leaders, however, continue to push more teachers to attend AP training.
"As teachers retire and come and go, they're constantly looking at new teachers to go through the training and to move into that area of Advanced Placement," said Paul Weaver, counseling and guidance director for Plano schools.
Richardson schools send new teachers for AP training, though not as frequently as in the late '90s, when the district started an initiative to train as many teachers as possible in AP and pre-AP strategies.
"One of the reasons we did that, besides trying to grow our own AP programs, was because we know those strategies are good in all classrooms," said Karen Adams, advanced-studies coordinating director for the Richardson district.
First developed in 1955, AP has grown to become the nation's predominant program for accelerated high school classes.
It offers 35 courses in 20 subject areas and is built around cumulative exams that students can take for college credit.
The program has faced criticism in recent years, much of it from scholars and college professors who disagree with the College Board's assertion that students who score a 3 – the equivalent of a C – on an AP exam know enough about a subject to receive college course credit and be exempted from introductory classes.
Teachers don't have to pass an exam or meet any formal guidelines to teach AP, but the program this year released its first set of standards for instructors.
Trevor Packer, AP's executive director, said the group developed the standards because educators have been clamoring for more guidance. He said teachers want to know how they should prepare to teach AP classes and what professional development they need. The standards, which aren't mandatory, include course expertise and teacher certification.
One recommendation is that AP teachers have at least three years' teaching experience, plus at least a bachelor's degree in a content-related field or significant mastery of the subject.
The standards also say teachers should regularly attend AP workshops to learn innovations in education.
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Kevin Finn teaches the rise of Napoleon in a day and the colonization of Latin America in three.
The world history teacher at Highland Park High School would love to spend more time on such meaty topics, but it's not an option. He has just several months to prepare more than 100 sophomores for what he says will probably be the toughest test of their high school careers: the Advanced Placement world history exam.
"We usually cover a chapter every two to three days," Mr. Finn said. "They do about nine to 10 pages of reading a night. The first six weeks, they're stunned" at the workload.
It's not just AP students facing the strain, though.
With more students opting for the fast-paced, college-level curriculum, districts must ensure teachers have the training and materials needed to instruct high-performing students.
That costs money, something local districts aren't exactly swimming in.
The curriculum's growth has also led the program this year to issue its first standards for AP teachers.
Though costs vary by course and school, AP programs can be expensive because teachers need textbooks, graphics and workbooks that are relevant and up to date.
They also need to be well-versed in technology like graphing calculators and the Internet so they can demonstrate it for their students, said Susan Harris, director of AP summer institutes at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
A review of several dozen upcoming College Board-approved training sessions showed that costs range from $90 a day to $345 for a two-day social studies workshop.
A five-day summer institute for AP chemistry teachers at the University of Texas at Tyler costs $425, not including housing, meals or transportation costs.
There are more than 110,000 AP educators worldwide, approximately 10,000 more than three years ago, according to the College Board, the nonprofit organization that oversees the program.
No area districts contacted track the total number of sections each school offers on a year-by-year basis or the number of instructors teaching AP courses. However, they all said the teachers and sections have increased alongside student participation.
In the 2003-04 school year, 101,115 Texas students participated in the program, compared with 51,228 students in the 1998-99 school year, according to the College Board.
In Highland Park, approximately a fifth of the school's 126 teachers teach nothing but pre-AP or AP classes. In content areas such as English and social studies, the school now offers more sections of AP and pre-AP classes than standard ones, said Marta Gott, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction.
Ms. Gott said the school hasn't needed to hire more than a few additional teachers to cover the demand because students have shifted from non-AP classes to the college-preparatory ones. Plano, Dallas and Richardson district officials said they add teachers only when a school's enrollment jumps enough to warrant it.
District leaders, however, continue to push more teachers to attend AP training.
"As teachers retire and come and go, they're constantly looking at new teachers to go through the training and to move into that area of Advanced Placement," said Paul Weaver, counseling and guidance director for Plano schools.
Richardson schools send new teachers for AP training, though not as frequently as in the late '90s, when the district started an initiative to train as many teachers as possible in AP and pre-AP strategies.
"One of the reasons we did that, besides trying to grow our own AP programs, was because we know those strategies are good in all classrooms," said Karen Adams, advanced-studies coordinating director for the Richardson district.
First developed in 1955, AP has grown to become the nation's predominant program for accelerated high school classes.
It offers 35 courses in 20 subject areas and is built around cumulative exams that students can take for college credit.
The program has faced criticism in recent years, much of it from scholars and college professors who disagree with the College Board's assertion that students who score a 3 – the equivalent of a C – on an AP exam know enough about a subject to receive college course credit and be exempted from introductory classes.
Teachers don't have to pass an exam or meet any formal guidelines to teach AP, but the program this year released its first set of standards for instructors.
Trevor Packer, AP's executive director, said the group developed the standards because educators have been clamoring for more guidance. He said teachers want to know how they should prepare to teach AP classes and what professional development they need. The standards, which aren't mandatory, include course expertise and teacher certification.
One recommendation is that AP teachers have at least three years' teaching experience, plus at least a bachelor's degree in a content-related field or significant mastery of the subject.
The standards also say teachers should regularly attend AP workshops to learn innovations in education.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
'Trap laid' for woman murdered in McKinney
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - A woman who was murdered by her ex-husband outside the Medical Center of McKinney in Collin County on Thursday was lured into a trap, a witness said.
Crystal Benavidez, 35, was shot by Josely M. Benavidez, 54, who subsequently shot himself dead.
She had met up with former husband, after he said he would give her money for bills, said Brandon Lumpkin, the boyfriend of a friend of Benavidez, who was also shot at.
"It was just a trap to get to see her, to know where she was," he added.
"I started to run back toward her and was going to help her but JB shot her and she fell on the ground and then he shot at me about ten times," he added.
A pharmaceutical sales representative, Brian Rodgers was going to meet with a doctor across from the scene of the crime.
"I heard multiple gunshots, saw a cloud of smoke go into the sky and heard lots of screaming and yelling," he said. "I saw some people running from the parking lot."
"The female victim got out of the car and started to run," said Capt. Randy Roland, a McKinney police spokesperson. "Our suspect fired some shots at the victim, followed her on basically the lawn of the hospital and shot her where she died."
Officers found two guns at the scene and witnesses said they saw Josely Benavidez use both weapons.
Sources said the victim had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth to get away from her ex-husband. Soon after her move, police said calls began to come into the police department.
"We had several 911 calls to our location and we have gone out and taken reports," Capt. Roland said. "All of the information we gained was that he had been threatening over the phone. He had never actually come to McKinney and caused any harm to her."
The victim had never pursued getting a restraining order, but she had let police know that her ex-husband had threatened her in detail.
"The types [of calls that say], 'seriously bodily injury, I am going to get you, I can't believe you left me'" Roland said. "Those were the types of calls. [They] were enough of a threat that she called the police department."
The same McKinney hospital was the site for a similar shooting two and a half years ago.
A former Allen firefighter, Raymond Wingfield, went to a parking lot in the same area and opened fire on his wife, Amy Wingfield, and her friend, Lisa Stewart, who were both nurses at the hospital. While Stewart survived her wounds, Amy Wingfield's injuries proved fatal.
Wingfield was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - A woman who was murdered by her ex-husband outside the Medical Center of McKinney in Collin County on Thursday was lured into a trap, a witness said.
Crystal Benavidez, 35, was shot by Josely M. Benavidez, 54, who subsequently shot himself dead.
She had met up with former husband, after he said he would give her money for bills, said Brandon Lumpkin, the boyfriend of a friend of Benavidez, who was also shot at.
"It was just a trap to get to see her, to know where she was," he added.
"I started to run back toward her and was going to help her but JB shot her and she fell on the ground and then he shot at me about ten times," he added.
A pharmaceutical sales representative, Brian Rodgers was going to meet with a doctor across from the scene of the crime.
"I heard multiple gunshots, saw a cloud of smoke go into the sky and heard lots of screaming and yelling," he said. "I saw some people running from the parking lot."
"The female victim got out of the car and started to run," said Capt. Randy Roland, a McKinney police spokesperson. "Our suspect fired some shots at the victim, followed her on basically the lawn of the hospital and shot her where she died."
Officers found two guns at the scene and witnesses said they saw Josely Benavidez use both weapons.
Sources said the victim had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth to get away from her ex-husband. Soon after her move, police said calls began to come into the police department.
"We had several 911 calls to our location and we have gone out and taken reports," Capt. Roland said. "All of the information we gained was that he had been threatening over the phone. He had never actually come to McKinney and caused any harm to her."
The victim had never pursued getting a restraining order, but she had let police know that her ex-husband had threatened her in detail.
"The types [of calls that say], 'seriously bodily injury, I am going to get you, I can't believe you left me'" Roland said. "Those were the types of calls. [They] were enough of a threat that she called the police department."
The same McKinney hospital was the site for a similar shooting two and a half years ago.
A former Allen firefighter, Raymond Wingfield, went to a parking lot in the same area and opened fire on his wife, Amy Wingfield, and her friend, Lisa Stewart, who were both nurses at the hospital. While Stewart survived her wounds, Amy Wingfield's injuries proved fatal.
Wingfield was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Babies at risk from contagious virus
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Doctors say a severe outbreak of a highly contagious virus is affecting the most vulnerable in North Texas. Thousands of children have already become sick, with many who are hospitalized.
Non-stop coughing prompted Marie Pardo to bring her seven-week-old daughter Alexa to the hospital. "She had a hoarseness; she could hardly cry," Pardo said.
Alexa was diagnosed with RSV—respiratory syncytial virus—and she's not alone.
"We have seen 450 cases of RSV bronchiolitis, which is a large number," said Dr. Octavio Ramilo, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Medical Center Dallas. "The majority are very young babies, as you can imagine, and we've had a lot of hospitalizations."
Dr. Ramilo said this is a serious outbreak, and that assessment was brought into sharp focus at the hospital's asthma treatment room—packed with little patients getting breathing treatments for a virus that looks like a common cold in adults, but can be very dangerous in babies.
RSV infects almost every child before they turn two years old. Some 125,000 children are hospitalized each year, and 500 of them die. Ten percent of those who get RSV have long-term respiratory problems, including asthma.
Especially vulnerable are those born prematurely or with other health conditions.
The signs of serious infection include:
•difficult or rapid breathing
•wheezing
•irritability
•poor appetite
RSV causes airways to close and lungs to become cloudy and inflamed. Pneumonia can set in.
RSV is common during the winter season, when viruses spread because people are confined indoors. But doctors say they're baffled by the current outbreak considering the unseasonably warm weather in North Texas.
"Try to protect those babies," Dr. Ramilo urged. "During this season, don't let a lot of the family members manipulate the babies."
Marie Pardo is grateful she got her little girl to the hospital in time. "As soon as she gets to get this oxygen off, she gets to go home.
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Doctors say a severe outbreak of a highly contagious virus is affecting the most vulnerable in North Texas. Thousands of children have already become sick, with many who are hospitalized.
Non-stop coughing prompted Marie Pardo to bring her seven-week-old daughter Alexa to the hospital. "She had a hoarseness; she could hardly cry," Pardo said.
Alexa was diagnosed with RSV—respiratory syncytial virus—and she's not alone.
"We have seen 450 cases of RSV bronchiolitis, which is a large number," said Dr. Octavio Ramilo, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Medical Center Dallas. "The majority are very young babies, as you can imagine, and we've had a lot of hospitalizations."
Dr. Ramilo said this is a serious outbreak, and that assessment was brought into sharp focus at the hospital's asthma treatment room—packed with little patients getting breathing treatments for a virus that looks like a common cold in adults, but can be very dangerous in babies.
RSV infects almost every child before they turn two years old. Some 125,000 children are hospitalized each year, and 500 of them die. Ten percent of those who get RSV have long-term respiratory problems, including asthma.
Especially vulnerable are those born prematurely or with other health conditions.
The signs of serious infection include:
•difficult or rapid breathing
•wheezing
•irritability
•poor appetite
RSV causes airways to close and lungs to become cloudy and inflamed. Pneumonia can set in.
RSV is common during the winter season, when viruses spread because people are confined indoors. But doctors say they're baffled by the current outbreak considering the unseasonably warm weather in North Texas.
"Try to protect those babies," Dr. Ramilo urged. "During this season, don't let a lot of the family members manipulate the babies."
Marie Pardo is grateful she got her little girl to the hospital in time. "As soon as she gets to get this oxygen off, she gets to go home.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Newborn baby found in toilet at Parkland
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A newborn boy was in stable condition Friday after he was found in a toilet overnight at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said.
The baby was about 15-minutes-old when he was found.
The baby's condition was upgraded from critical once he began breathing on his own, Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said.
"Estimates are that the baby was about 31 weeks along, so almost a full term," he added. "So they are very hopeful for him at this point."
The infant was found around 3 a.m. after a woman had gone into the restroom.
Witnesses told officials that when the woman came out of the restroom, she left the hospital with a man.
About ten minutes later, the newborn was found in a toilet, Geron said.
Officials are concerned that the woman who gave birth to the child could be in critical condition and may need treatment.
Witnesses said she was hunched over and obviously in a lot of pain.
Later on Friday, police released a surveillance videotape that shows the suspected mother in distress, accompanied by a man.
Police said they were not looking to file charges against the woman because the child was abandoned in a hospital. That complies with terms of the Baby Moses Law, designed to encourage parents who have an unwanted child to turn it over to a responsible agency with no questions asked.
The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A newborn boy was in stable condition Friday after he was found in a toilet overnight at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said.
The baby was about 15-minutes-old when he was found.
The baby's condition was upgraded from critical once he began breathing on his own, Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said.
"Estimates are that the baby was about 31 weeks along, so almost a full term," he added. "So they are very hopeful for him at this point."
The infant was found around 3 a.m. after a woman had gone into the restroom.
Witnesses told officials that when the woman came out of the restroom, she left the hospital with a man.
About ten minutes later, the newborn was found in a toilet, Geron said.
Officials are concerned that the woman who gave birth to the child could be in critical condition and may need treatment.
Witnesses said she was hunched over and obviously in a lot of pain.
Later on Friday, police released a surveillance videotape that shows the suspected mother in distress, accompanied by a man.
Police said they were not looking to file charges against the woman because the child was abandoned in a hospital. That complies with terms of the Baby Moses Law, designed to encourage parents who have an unwanted child to turn it over to a responsible agency with no questions asked.
The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Police chief: Is this justice?
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES
MANSFIELD, Texas - The Mansfield police chief is blasting the Tarrant County justice system. Steve Noonkester says he and his officers are insulted that a former Tarrant County prosecutor has had her case quietly dismissed.
Last August, News 8 Investigates exposed allegations of special treatment given to a Dallas federal judge by the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.
The new allegations from Chief Noonkester follow what he regards as special treatment allegedly offered to someone with close ties to District Attorney Tim Curry.
"No case goes through our system in Tarrant County that quick," Noonkester said, referring to the October arrest of 35-year-old Dawn Darice Rhoden.
She was caught by police allegedly writing a fake prescription for the controlled narcotic, hydrocodone—a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
On December 19, Rhoden's case was dismissed.
Her only punishment was participation in a 13-month drug treatment program operated by the county.
Chief Noonkester said he is baffled. "This one was a fairly simple case," he said. "I can't imagine anything other than a guilty plea in this case, but certainly not a dismissal, because everything was done right."
What may also be abnormal is the dismissal of charges before Rhoden completed the county's drug treatment program.
"I don't know why someone's case would be dismissed prior to them completing the program," said District Judge Wayne Salvant, who oversees the treatment program.
But Rhoden is not just anyone.
Chief Noonkester's reaction to this information? In addition to being a former prosectuor in Tarrant County, Rhoden is also the daughter-in-law of District Attorney Tim Curry's personal secretary.
"If you're asking me do I think this would be the way a normal case would be handled for John Q. Citizen over here across the street from this building? No," Noonkester said.
But one day after Rhoden's arrest, Curry recused himself from prosecution, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Curry recommended a judge appoint a special prosecutor—in this case, Fort Worth defense attorney Bill Ray, himself the subject of a previous News 8 Investigates report.
Last year, Curry recommended Ray as special prosecutor in the case of Federal Judge Paul Stickney, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Despite failing a field sobriety test and a stumbling performance on tape, Ray let Judge Stickney plead guilty to obstructing a roadway.
"I—Bill Ray, the special prosecutor—believe that when I'm acting with the public's money and I'm authorized to handle this case that I should dispose of it the way I see fit, and I've done that," Ray said about the Stickney case.
But Ray declined to comment on his handling of the dismissal of Dawn Rhoden's case, referring us to records on file in the courthouse.
We were also unable to get a response from Rhoden or from District Attorney Tim Curry.
Chief Noonkester said District Judge George Gallagher, who signed off on the dismissal, should also have to explain. "I can assure you that, at some point, I will ask Judge Gallagher directly why the case was dismissed," he said.
It's interesting to note that four years ago—when another Tarrant County prosecutor was busted on drug charges—Curry appointed a special prosecutor from Dallas County.
In that case, the defendant was fully prosecuted and received probation, paid a fine, and was ordered to perform community service.
He, too, asked to be placed in the same drug treatment program that Rhoden entered, but was denied.
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES
MANSFIELD, Texas - The Mansfield police chief is blasting the Tarrant County justice system. Steve Noonkester says he and his officers are insulted that a former Tarrant County prosecutor has had her case quietly dismissed.
Last August, News 8 Investigates exposed allegations of special treatment given to a Dallas federal judge by the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.
The new allegations from Chief Noonkester follow what he regards as special treatment allegedly offered to someone with close ties to District Attorney Tim Curry.
"No case goes through our system in Tarrant County that quick," Noonkester said, referring to the October arrest of 35-year-old Dawn Darice Rhoden.
She was caught by police allegedly writing a fake prescription for the controlled narcotic, hydrocodone—a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
On December 19, Rhoden's case was dismissed.
Her only punishment was participation in a 13-month drug treatment program operated by the county.
Chief Noonkester said he is baffled. "This one was a fairly simple case," he said. "I can't imagine anything other than a guilty plea in this case, but certainly not a dismissal, because everything was done right."
What may also be abnormal is the dismissal of charges before Rhoden completed the county's drug treatment program.
"I don't know why someone's case would be dismissed prior to them completing the program," said District Judge Wayne Salvant, who oversees the treatment program.
But Rhoden is not just anyone.
Chief Noonkester's reaction to this information? In addition to being a former prosectuor in Tarrant County, Rhoden is also the daughter-in-law of District Attorney Tim Curry's personal secretary.
"If you're asking me do I think this would be the way a normal case would be handled for John Q. Citizen over here across the street from this building? No," Noonkester said.
But one day after Rhoden's arrest, Curry recused himself from prosecution, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Curry recommended a judge appoint a special prosecutor—in this case, Fort Worth defense attorney Bill Ray, himself the subject of a previous News 8 Investigates report.
Last year, Curry recommended Ray as special prosecutor in the case of Federal Judge Paul Stickney, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Despite failing a field sobriety test and a stumbling performance on tape, Ray let Judge Stickney plead guilty to obstructing a roadway.
"I—Bill Ray, the special prosecutor—believe that when I'm acting with the public's money and I'm authorized to handle this case that I should dispose of it the way I see fit, and I've done that," Ray said about the Stickney case.
But Ray declined to comment on his handling of the dismissal of Dawn Rhoden's case, referring us to records on file in the courthouse.
We were also unable to get a response from Rhoden or from District Attorney Tim Curry.
Chief Noonkester said District Judge George Gallagher, who signed off on the dismissal, should also have to explain. "I can assure you that, at some point, I will ask Judge Gallagher directly why the case was dismissed," he said.
It's interesting to note that four years ago—when another Tarrant County prosecutor was busted on drug charges—Curry appointed a special prosecutor from Dallas County.
In that case, the defendant was fully prosecuted and received probation, paid a fine, and was ordered to perform community service.
He, too, asked to be placed in the same drug treatment program that Rhoden entered, but was denied.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Friend describes couple's final, fatal moments
McKinney: He and girlfriend fled scene of murder-suicide outside hospital
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Standing along the driver-side door of a red and white Camaro on Thursday evening, Josely M. Benavidez begged his wife to return home.
"Are you going to come back with me? I really miss you."
Crystal Benavidez refused, saying she needed some time to herself.
"I'm asking you one more time. Will you come back with me?' "
He pulled out a black pistol.
"Yes! Yes!"
And for a split second, "It looked like he was going to put the gun away," said Brandon Lumpkin, who sat in the Camaro's back seat.
"Then he turned to me and shot at my head."
So began a mad rush for safety for Ms. Benavidez, 35, Mr. Lumpkin and his girlfriend, who also sat in the back seat. Mr. Lumpkin recalled the details Friday morning of the horrific scene that ended in Ms. Benavidez's murder and Mr. Benavidez's suicide.
After the first shot missed Mr. Lumpkin's head, he said he saw Ms. Benavidez struggling with her husband for the gun. Mr. Lumpkin pushed his girlfriend, Rebekka Bundrick, out the passenger door and toward the Medical Center of McKinney hospital parking lot. Bullets pierced windows of nearby parked cars. Flying glass cut both of them.
Mr. Benavidez, 54, managed to shoot his wife once in the arm, according to Collin County Medical Examiner Dr. William Rohr and witness accounts.
As bullets flew, Mr. Lumpkin and Ms. Bundrick left a hiding space they had found and ran toward the hospital door. Once inside, Ms. Bundrick asked Mr. Lumpkin to go back and help Ms. Benavidez. The gunfire had stopped. So he said he stepped back outside, but he heard shooting again.
"J.B. [Josely Benavidez] was running behind her with a gun, shooting," said Mr. Lumpkin, who turned back to the building fearing for his own life. When he turned around again, he saw that Ms. Benavidez had fallen.
"I saw J.B. stand over her and shoot her. Then he dropped to his knees, put the gun to his head, and shot," he said.
Both died at the scene, yards from the hospital's emergency room doors. McKinney police officers had been at the hospital handling another case and arrived on the scene seconds after the last gunshot.
Ms. Benavidez had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth a couple of weeks ago to get away from her husband's violent outbursts and threats, according to friends and police.
Fort Worth police spokesman Lt. Dean Sullivan said officers responded to three calls at the Benavidez home in December: one report of drug use that was unfounded, a verbal threat against Ms. Benavidez by her husband that he would "beat her up," and a complaint that Ms. Benavidez had taken property from the house.
McKinney police had two incident reports of threatening calls from Mr. Benavidez to his wife on Dec. 30 and 31. She had 20 threatening messages on her voicemail from Mr. Benavidez, according to the report.
In one report, she told police that he was coming to McKinney to "kill her with his gun, because he had nothing else to do." She told police that she was hospitalized a month ago when he beat her up.
She said he had also previously put a gun in her mouth and told her "this is the end," according to the report.
No restraining order appears to have been filed in Tarrant or Collin counties.
Mr. Lumpkin, who roomed with Ms. Benavidez and his girlfriend in McKinney, said they asked for a restraining order.
McKinney police spokesman Capt. Randy Roland said he does not know whether Ms. Benavidez asked for a restraining order. Regardless, the situation didn't merit one, he said.
Mr. Benavidez did not know where his wife was living. There was no imminent danger, just harassing phone calls. And there was no history of violence in McKinney.
If there had been cause, the police would have filled out the proper paperwork for the restraining order, submitted it to the family court and allowed a judge to consider the evidence, Capt. Roland said.
He said police did suggest some shelters where Ms. Benavidez could seek refuge and advised her to call the police if he ever showed up and not to let him in. Capt. Roland said police also increased patrols in the apartment complex near downtown McKinney.
Mr. Benavidez served three months probation after pleading no contest to charges he assaulted another woman in Fort Worth in 1999.
Mr. Benavidez on Thursday was supposed to be bringing his wife's dog and giving her some money to help pay for a bill, Mr. Lumpkin said. He said they chose the hospital as a meeting spot, because it was a public place.
"One misstep is she agreed to meet him. There is nothing to be gained by meeting for money. It's important to sever all ties, no phone contact, nothing," Capt. Roland said, being careful to note that he was not blaming Ms. Benavidez.
But Mr. Lumpkin said that even with all the threats, they didn't think this would happen. He said she was in the process of trying to divorce him.
"I don't think she really expected him to pull out a gun. She thought he was going to give her some money or bring her dog," he said.
"I guess this was his way of getting what he wanted. But it wasn't right."
Staff writers Debra Dennis in Fort Worth and Liliana Vargas of Al Día contributed to this report.
McKinney: He and girlfriend fled scene of murder-suicide outside hospital
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Standing along the driver-side door of a red and white Camaro on Thursday evening, Josely M. Benavidez begged his wife to return home.
"Are you going to come back with me? I really miss you."
Crystal Benavidez refused, saying she needed some time to herself.
"I'm asking you one more time. Will you come back with me?' "
He pulled out a black pistol.
"Yes! Yes!"
And for a split second, "It looked like he was going to put the gun away," said Brandon Lumpkin, who sat in the Camaro's back seat.
"Then he turned to me and shot at my head."
So began a mad rush for safety for Ms. Benavidez, 35, Mr. Lumpkin and his girlfriend, who also sat in the back seat. Mr. Lumpkin recalled the details Friday morning of the horrific scene that ended in Ms. Benavidez's murder and Mr. Benavidez's suicide.
After the first shot missed Mr. Lumpkin's head, he said he saw Ms. Benavidez struggling with her husband for the gun. Mr. Lumpkin pushed his girlfriend, Rebekka Bundrick, out the passenger door and toward the Medical Center of McKinney hospital parking lot. Bullets pierced windows of nearby parked cars. Flying glass cut both of them.
Mr. Benavidez, 54, managed to shoot his wife once in the arm, according to Collin County Medical Examiner Dr. William Rohr and witness accounts.
As bullets flew, Mr. Lumpkin and Ms. Bundrick left a hiding space they had found and ran toward the hospital door. Once inside, Ms. Bundrick asked Mr. Lumpkin to go back and help Ms. Benavidez. The gunfire had stopped. So he said he stepped back outside, but he heard shooting again.
"J.B. [Josely Benavidez] was running behind her with a gun, shooting," said Mr. Lumpkin, who turned back to the building fearing for his own life. When he turned around again, he saw that Ms. Benavidez had fallen.
"I saw J.B. stand over her and shoot her. Then he dropped to his knees, put the gun to his head, and shot," he said.
Both died at the scene, yards from the hospital's emergency room doors. McKinney police officers had been at the hospital handling another case and arrived on the scene seconds after the last gunshot.
Ms. Benavidez had moved to McKinney from Fort Worth a couple of weeks ago to get away from her husband's violent outbursts and threats, according to friends and police.
Fort Worth police spokesman Lt. Dean Sullivan said officers responded to three calls at the Benavidez home in December: one report of drug use that was unfounded, a verbal threat against Ms. Benavidez by her husband that he would "beat her up," and a complaint that Ms. Benavidez had taken property from the house.
McKinney police had two incident reports of threatening calls from Mr. Benavidez to his wife on Dec. 30 and 31. She had 20 threatening messages on her voicemail from Mr. Benavidez, according to the report.
In one report, she told police that he was coming to McKinney to "kill her with his gun, because he had nothing else to do." She told police that she was hospitalized a month ago when he beat her up.
She said he had also previously put a gun in her mouth and told her "this is the end," according to the report.
No restraining order appears to have been filed in Tarrant or Collin counties.
Mr. Lumpkin, who roomed with Ms. Benavidez and his girlfriend in McKinney, said they asked for a restraining order.
McKinney police spokesman Capt. Randy Roland said he does not know whether Ms. Benavidez asked for a restraining order. Regardless, the situation didn't merit one, he said.
Mr. Benavidez did not know where his wife was living. There was no imminent danger, just harassing phone calls. And there was no history of violence in McKinney.
If there had been cause, the police would have filled out the proper paperwork for the restraining order, submitted it to the family court and allowed a judge to consider the evidence, Capt. Roland said.
He said police did suggest some shelters where Ms. Benavidez could seek refuge and advised her to call the police if he ever showed up and not to let him in. Capt. Roland said police also increased patrols in the apartment complex near downtown McKinney.
Mr. Benavidez served three months probation after pleading no contest to charges he assaulted another woman in Fort Worth in 1999.
Mr. Benavidez on Thursday was supposed to be bringing his wife's dog and giving her some money to help pay for a bill, Mr. Lumpkin said. He said they chose the hospital as a meeting spot, because it was a public place.
"One misstep is she agreed to meet him. There is nothing to be gained by meeting for money. It's important to sever all ties, no phone contact, nothing," Capt. Roland said, being careful to note that he was not blaming Ms. Benavidez.
But Mr. Lumpkin said that even with all the threats, they didn't think this would happen. He said she was in the process of trying to divorce him.
"I don't think she really expected him to pull out a gun. She thought he was going to give her some money or bring her dog," he said.
"I guess this was his way of getting what he wanted. But it wasn't right."
Staff writers Debra Dennis in Fort Worth and Liliana Vargas of Al Día contributed to this report.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Teen arrested in Haltom City arson case
By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8
HALTOM CITY, Texas — A 13-year-old was arrested and several others were under investigation for allegedly starting a series of grass fires in this Tarrant County community.
Investigators said the alleged arsonists are responsible for more than a dozen fires near a creekbed on the far northeast side of Haltom City.
In one blaze, 15 acres of brush burned so quickly it took six fire departments in northeast Tarrant County to contain it.
Homes were threatened, and so was history, as flames flirted with a century-old landmark church.
Down the street, remnants of another fire— just a stone's throw from Crystal Yates' backyard. "That's too close," she said.
There have been two fires in six days, and a dozen more since last summer. Investigators said it's all the work of about four teenagers.
"This area over here has kind of been a problem for us over the last several months," said Haltom City Fire Department Deputy Chief Wes Rhodes.
Fire investigators said criminal mischief—not curiosity—fans the flames for these teen arsonists, who usually stick to brush.
"But how long is it going to be before that's not enough, that isn't enough of a thrill and they perhaps go after homes?" asked homeowner Danny Yates.
"I hope they find who who's doing this," Crystal Yates added.
Thursday's arrest is the first of what may be several to come.
The Tarrant County Fire Marshal's office is aggressively investigating each case, and has already issued numerous citations to some juveniles and their parents within the last month.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the Continuing Coverage of the Wildfires in the USA Weather Forum.
By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8
HALTOM CITY, Texas — A 13-year-old was arrested and several others were under investigation for allegedly starting a series of grass fires in this Tarrant County community.
Investigators said the alleged arsonists are responsible for more than a dozen fires near a creekbed on the far northeast side of Haltom City.
In one blaze, 15 acres of brush burned so quickly it took six fire departments in northeast Tarrant County to contain it.
Homes were threatened, and so was history, as flames flirted with a century-old landmark church.
Down the street, remnants of another fire— just a stone's throw from Crystal Yates' backyard. "That's too close," she said.
There have been two fires in six days, and a dozen more since last summer. Investigators said it's all the work of about four teenagers.
"This area over here has kind of been a problem for us over the last several months," said Haltom City Fire Department Deputy Chief Wes Rhodes.
Fire investigators said criminal mischief—not curiosity—fans the flames for these teen arsonists, who usually stick to brush.
"But how long is it going to be before that's not enough, that isn't enough of a thrill and they perhaps go after homes?" asked homeowner Danny Yates.
"I hope they find who who's doing this," Crystal Yates added.
Thursday's arrest is the first of what may be several to come.
The Tarrant County Fire Marshal's office is aggressively investigating each case, and has already issued numerous citations to some juveniles and their parents within the last month.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the Continuing Coverage of the Wildfires in the USA Weather Forum.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Arlington convenience store clerk killed
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A clerk was shot and killed late Saturday night at an Arlington convenience store—the third crime of its type since October in North Texas.
Police said officers found the man inside the Conoco store at Fielder Road and Pioneer Parkway around 11 p.m.
The victim, whose name was not released, died a short time later at a local hospital.
Police dusted the store for fingerprints and were searching for suspects.
It was not immediately known whether security cameras captured the crime on tape.
This is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on convenience store employees.
On Dec. 22, Shekhar Regmi, 20, was shot and killed when a cash register failed to open during the robbery of a gas station on Copeland Road in Arlington. Police arrested three suspects.
In October, 19-year-old Anthony Flanery was shot and killed while working alone as a clerk at a 7-Eleven store in Lancaster. Three men were arrested in connection with that crime.
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A clerk was shot and killed late Saturday night at an Arlington convenience store—the third crime of its type since October in North Texas.
Police said officers found the man inside the Conoco store at Fielder Road and Pioneer Parkway around 11 p.m.
The victim, whose name was not released, died a short time later at a local hospital.
Police dusted the store for fingerprints and were searching for suspects.
It was not immediately known whether security cameras captured the crime on tape.
This is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on convenience store employees.
On Dec. 22, Shekhar Regmi, 20, was shot and killed when a cash register failed to open during the robbery of a gas station on Copeland Road in Arlington. Police arrested three suspects.
In October, 19-year-old Anthony Flanery was shot and killed while working alone as a clerk at a 7-Eleven store in Lancaster. Three men were arrested in connection with that crime.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Fort Worth teen shot and killed
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police are investigating the death of 16-year-old boy who was shot in the 3500 block of N.W. 27th St. early Sunday morning.
Police said the boy, identified by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office as Luis Avila, was shot at about 4:30 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Police said they believe the shooting may be gang related.
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police are investigating the death of 16-year-old boy who was shot in the 3500 block of N.W. 27th St. early Sunday morning.
Police said the boy, identified by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office as Luis Avila, was shot at about 4:30 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Police said they believe the shooting may be gang related.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Residents not going quietly
Irving: Council ends TV broadcasts of public comments; some say remarks went too far
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – For months, Nancy Wilson and Sue Harper have called out residents by showing pictures of cars parked on front yards and homes splashed with bright colors before the Irving City Council – and a television audience.
They've also announced addresses of aging houses and businesses, as well as the name and address of a planning commissioner.
"Mars critters have landed," Ms. Harper told the council after flashing pictures of blue and green statues. "Unbelievable. Look at the colors. ... Embrace this? No way."
The city cable network has broadcast their commentary during the Citizens' Forum, a free-for-all during which residents sound off before the council.
But some residents and council members feel the two women and other speakers have gone too far. They say their remarks smack of racism and intimidation. In response, the council decided in November to stop televising the forum that follows the council meeting.
Elsewhere, Rowlett council members have stopped broadcasting their resident feedback sessions. In Garland, the public comment session has been pushed back to the end of the meeting, after television coverage ends. And in Duncanville, resident comments are not broadcast during election season.
But some say the Irving and Rowlett councils have gone too far.
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they haven't done anything wrong. They say no one approached them to express concerns about their presentations. They feel the council is trying to muzzle them.
"They want to kill the messenger," Ms. Harper said. "They're trying to figure out how to get rid of us."
Irving's broadcasts ended after Mayor Herbert Gears said he reached a consensus with council members. He said he's not restricting residents' freedom of speech because they can still address the council.
"I don't believe that I have to provide a television network to people who want to make disparaging remarks about others," Mr. Gears said. "If I'm given a choice of whether to be televising that kind of childish behavior, then I choose 'no.' "
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper said they keep speaking because they want to improve code enforcement.
They don't think the council is doing enough to enforce city codes, a hot topic in Irving in recent years. They've also formed a residents group to bring attention to the issue.
They think their pictures during the Citizens' Forum send strong messages to city officials – and the television exposure is a plus.
During an October presentation about the need to clamp down on gravel driveways, Ms. Wilson mentioned a planning commissioner's name and address and pictures of houses along the commissioner's street.
Ms. Harper said in one presentation that she wanted tougher codes for "third-world slum housing."
While talking about the need to have color standards for buildings, Ms. Wilson said: "Ten years ago we wouldn't be having this discussion, but as you know this city has changed."
The comments have led some residents to protest the presentations.
"Color has nothing to do with it," Roland Medina told council members. "It's pure racism. And I'm sick and tired of it."
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they're not racist and not targeting people based on skin color.
"They always use the race card when they want to shut the whole thing down," said Ms. Wilson, who has a track record of stirring up controversy. In October, she said she wanted white residents to show up at a city retreat, so she placed a sign in her yard that read: "Whites Be there to be sure we are heard!" Some residents said the sign was insensitive.
Council member Beth Van Duyne says she doesn't know if Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper have crossed the line during the forums. But people have a right to their opinions, she says, and the forums should be televised. She says she'd prefer sharing information with the public rather than hiding it.
The council could establish procedures to minimize concerns about potentially questionable comments, Ms. Van Duyne said.
"If we're going to take away information, if we're going to be removing another avenue for people to hear about what we're discussing at City Hall," she said, "it should not be done lightly, precariously or unilaterally."
In Rowlett, City Council members decided in September to stop airing their city's Citizens' Input sessions, held before the council starts voting.
Mayor Shane Johnson approved the plan and says it's been effective so far, but he plans to revisit the issue in March. He says dropping the sessions from the broadcasts makes it more efficient for the television audience to watch council voting. It also addresses concerns of a few people who he says repeatedly "utilize that television camera to be their stage for a particular political position."
"It's still their right to come and talk to us," Mr. Johnson said. "What's been taken away is that stage."
But council member Cindy Rushing wants the input sessions back on the air. If broadcasting feedback from residents wastes viewers' time, she said, then perhaps the council should stop airing other items, such as award presentations to veteran employees.
"You shouldn't edit out portions that you don't want everyone to hear," she said. "You're editing the meeting."
In Irving, Mr. Gears says the Citizens' Forum might go back on the air if the council can set up better guidelines.
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they intend to calm the waters and hope to talk with the mayor. In the meantime, they've circulated a petition to resume the broadcasts.
And they plan to continue sounding off during the forums – even if the cameras aren't on.
"They're trying to silence us," Ms. Wilson said, "but we will not go away."
Irving: Council ends TV broadcasts of public comments; some say remarks went too far
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – For months, Nancy Wilson and Sue Harper have called out residents by showing pictures of cars parked on front yards and homes splashed with bright colors before the Irving City Council – and a television audience.
They've also announced addresses of aging houses and businesses, as well as the name and address of a planning commissioner.
"Mars critters have landed," Ms. Harper told the council after flashing pictures of blue and green statues. "Unbelievable. Look at the colors. ... Embrace this? No way."
The city cable network has broadcast their commentary during the Citizens' Forum, a free-for-all during which residents sound off before the council.
But some residents and council members feel the two women and other speakers have gone too far. They say their remarks smack of racism and intimidation. In response, the council decided in November to stop televising the forum that follows the council meeting.
Elsewhere, Rowlett council members have stopped broadcasting their resident feedback sessions. In Garland, the public comment session has been pushed back to the end of the meeting, after television coverage ends. And in Duncanville, resident comments are not broadcast during election season.
But some say the Irving and Rowlett councils have gone too far.
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they haven't done anything wrong. They say no one approached them to express concerns about their presentations. They feel the council is trying to muzzle them.
"They want to kill the messenger," Ms. Harper said. "They're trying to figure out how to get rid of us."
Irving's broadcasts ended after Mayor Herbert Gears said he reached a consensus with council members. He said he's not restricting residents' freedom of speech because they can still address the council.
"I don't believe that I have to provide a television network to people who want to make disparaging remarks about others," Mr. Gears said. "If I'm given a choice of whether to be televising that kind of childish behavior, then I choose 'no.' "
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper said they keep speaking because they want to improve code enforcement.
They don't think the council is doing enough to enforce city codes, a hot topic in Irving in recent years. They've also formed a residents group to bring attention to the issue.
They think their pictures during the Citizens' Forum send strong messages to city officials – and the television exposure is a plus.
During an October presentation about the need to clamp down on gravel driveways, Ms. Wilson mentioned a planning commissioner's name and address and pictures of houses along the commissioner's street.
Ms. Harper said in one presentation that she wanted tougher codes for "third-world slum housing."
While talking about the need to have color standards for buildings, Ms. Wilson said: "Ten years ago we wouldn't be having this discussion, but as you know this city has changed."
The comments have led some residents to protest the presentations.
"Color has nothing to do with it," Roland Medina told council members. "It's pure racism. And I'm sick and tired of it."
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they're not racist and not targeting people based on skin color.
"They always use the race card when they want to shut the whole thing down," said Ms. Wilson, who has a track record of stirring up controversy. In October, she said she wanted white residents to show up at a city retreat, so she placed a sign in her yard that read: "Whites Be there to be sure we are heard!" Some residents said the sign was insensitive.
Council member Beth Van Duyne says she doesn't know if Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper have crossed the line during the forums. But people have a right to their opinions, she says, and the forums should be televised. She says she'd prefer sharing information with the public rather than hiding it.
The council could establish procedures to minimize concerns about potentially questionable comments, Ms. Van Duyne said.
"If we're going to take away information, if we're going to be removing another avenue for people to hear about what we're discussing at City Hall," she said, "it should not be done lightly, precariously or unilaterally."
In Rowlett, City Council members decided in September to stop airing their city's Citizens' Input sessions, held before the council starts voting.
Mayor Shane Johnson approved the plan and says it's been effective so far, but he plans to revisit the issue in March. He says dropping the sessions from the broadcasts makes it more efficient for the television audience to watch council voting. It also addresses concerns of a few people who he says repeatedly "utilize that television camera to be their stage for a particular political position."
"It's still their right to come and talk to us," Mr. Johnson said. "What's been taken away is that stage."
But council member Cindy Rushing wants the input sessions back on the air. If broadcasting feedback from residents wastes viewers' time, she said, then perhaps the council should stop airing other items, such as award presentations to veteran employees.
"You shouldn't edit out portions that you don't want everyone to hear," she said. "You're editing the meeting."
In Irving, Mr. Gears says the Citizens' Forum might go back on the air if the council can set up better guidelines.
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Harper say they intend to calm the waters and hope to talk with the mayor. In the meantime, they've circulated a petition to resume the broadcasts.
And they plan to continue sounding off during the forums – even if the cameras aren't on.
"They're trying to silence us," Ms. Wilson said, "but we will not go away."
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests