BREAKING NEWS
ROCKWALL, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Eastbound I-30 closed except for shoulder at FM 549 after a mobile home fell off a trailer and caused a grass fire.
Live Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse.
See Continuing Coverage of the Wildfire Danger in the USA Weather Forum.
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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TexasStooge
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BREAKING NEWS
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Interstate 35W has reopened between Long Avenue and Loop 820, although crews are still dousing remnants of a large grass fire along the highway.
Live Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse.
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Interstate 35W has reopened between Long Avenue and Loop 820, although crews are still dousing remnants of a large grass fire along the highway.
Live Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse.
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TexasStooge
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Woman stabbed at Denton County Wal-Mart
DENTON, Texas (Denton Record-Chronicle) - A 30-year-old woman was stabbed as she tried to stop a man from taking her Dodge Durango in the parking lot of the Hickory Creek Wal-Mart Friday.
Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, said the woman was leaving the store’s garden center shortly before 1 p.m. when she saw the man trying to steal her gray Dodge Durango, and she tried to stop him. He then stabbed her in the leg and abdomen and took the SUV, Reedy said.
The woman was airlifted to a Dallas hospital. Hickory Creek police are looking for the man and for the woman's stolen car.
DENTON, Texas (Denton Record-Chronicle) - A 30-year-old woman was stabbed as she tried to stop a man from taking her Dodge Durango in the parking lot of the Hickory Creek Wal-Mart Friday.
Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, said the woman was leaving the store’s garden center shortly before 1 p.m. when she saw the man trying to steal her gray Dodge Durango, and she tried to stop him. He then stabbed her in the leg and abdomen and took the SUV, Reedy said.
The woman was airlifted to a Dallas hospital. Hickory Creek police are looking for the man and for the woman's stolen car.
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TexasStooge
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What makes a great speech?
By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com
Most everyone recalls a few of the powerful words that are part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, burned into the American consciousness since it was delivered at the march on Washington in 1963.
"I have a dream," King said that day in front of the Lincoln Memorial, "that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Scholars often rank that speech as the best in American history. But what makes it great?
The rich resonance of King's voice, the preacher's delivery and well-written words spoken passionately during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, said Stephen Lucas, who teaches rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin and is an expert on King.
"It's a wonderfully composed speech full of memorable phraseology," Lucas said. "I've heard it hundreds of times and I never get tired of it. It's musical as it proceeds and you get caught up in not only in what he's saying but how he's saying it."
The address is widely used in academia as an example of persuasive and memorable oration, Lucas said.
"I Have a Dream" tops a list of the 100 best speeches of the 20th century compiled by rhetoric experts, including Lucas, and listed on americanrhetoric.com.
Among the other highly acclaimed speeches is President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address, in which he beseeched his fellow Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."
Twenty years earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously announced that "yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."
Also noted are addresses by presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as well as by first lady Barbara Bush, Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan and Texas Gov. Ann Richards.
Richards, with her folksy anecdotes and sharp tongue, has been a sought-after public speaker since she lost the governorship to George W. Bush in 1994. She is widely known for her 1988 Democratic National Convention address where she lampooned President George Bush with the barb, "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
Richards recalled it was a "crapshoot" that she was invited to make that speech, when as Texas treasurer she was virtually unknown on the national stage. Then her words went on to set the tone for the convention, she said.
"We worked very hard in crafting it," she said.
Richards, now a senior adviser with Austin-based Public Strategies Inc., said she practices the perfect comic timing that seems to come naturally.
"Good speech-making doesn't happen by accident. People don't just get up and talk and make a memorable speech," she said. "It's never easy. Like any other skill, it's something you develop over time."
The work starts with the writing, which should sound conversational and absent the monosyllabic words that make the delivery sound stiff, Richards said.
"It has to touch and reach the emotions of the audience in some fashion. It has to tell stories because that's really all people remember is stories. It has to contain phrasing that causes the members of the audience to see a picture," she said. "In my case it always has to contain humor because humor is the great leveler. It clears the air and allows the mind to open up and receive new ideas and information."
Richard Enos, who teaches rhetoric at Texas Christian University, said he believes the best speeches endure because they connect with the values of the moment.
"What's great about (the King) speech is it doesn't matter if you are black or white, hearing it in the 1960s or now, it transcends political groups and speaks to what this dream of America is about," Enos said. "He was able to solidify whole groups of people. He struck a chord that resonated."
Many compare the speech to President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, also considered one of America's best orations.
These speeches are popular because they captured turning points associated with one of the nation's most emotional subjects, Lucas said.
"It's not by coincidence that both of those speeches deal with the most complex and significant moral issues in American history, which is the question of race relations," he said.
Jordan, who died in 1996, is remembered for giving the 1976 Democratic National Convention address and a 1974 speech as a member of the House Judiciary Committee that considered impeachment charges against Nixon.
She loved to write her own speeches, but in her later years she sought help to handle the numerous requests for public speaking engagements, said Max Woodfin, her speechwriter in 1991-97.
"She was such a great orator and had such a great sound that people listened to every word," Woodfin said. "She could make fairly run-of-the-mill sentences sound well-thought-out and profound. She just had that gift."
Woodfin said most people hire speechwriters to save time, not because they can't write.
"They want to give the best speech possible, but they know the biggest block of time is in the research and writing the first draft. This way they can concentrate on the delivery and polish rather than the grunt work of putting it down on paper for the first time," he said.
While addresses that touch on political or social issues often are the best remembered, other noteworthy orations have been delivered at college graduations, at the Academy Awards podium or in the boardroom.
Members of Toastmasters, an organization that gives nervous speakers a forum to practice and improve, understand the difficulty of giving a moving speech. The best ones affect people personally or call them to action, said Chip Fowler, president of Metrospeakers Toastmasters.
"After being in Toastmasters and watching people screw up on delivery day to day, it's obvious that it's not that easy," Fowler said.
But people who want to speak well publicly can do it, Richards insisted, assuming they take the time to hone their skills.
"It's very hard work," she said. "When I finish a speech to this day, I'm really tired. It really takes it out of you."
By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com
Most everyone recalls a few of the powerful words that are part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, burned into the American consciousness since it was delivered at the march on Washington in 1963.
"I have a dream," King said that day in front of the Lincoln Memorial, "that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Scholars often rank that speech as the best in American history. But what makes it great?
The rich resonance of King's voice, the preacher's delivery and well-written words spoken passionately during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, said Stephen Lucas, who teaches rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin and is an expert on King.
"It's a wonderfully composed speech full of memorable phraseology," Lucas said. "I've heard it hundreds of times and I never get tired of it. It's musical as it proceeds and you get caught up in not only in what he's saying but how he's saying it."
The address is widely used in academia as an example of persuasive and memorable oration, Lucas said.
"I Have a Dream" tops a list of the 100 best speeches of the 20th century compiled by rhetoric experts, including Lucas, and listed on americanrhetoric.com.
Among the other highly acclaimed speeches is President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address, in which he beseeched his fellow Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."
Twenty years earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously announced that "yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."
Also noted are addresses by presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as well as by first lady Barbara Bush, Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan and Texas Gov. Ann Richards.
Richards, with her folksy anecdotes and sharp tongue, has been a sought-after public speaker since she lost the governorship to George W. Bush in 1994. She is widely known for her 1988 Democratic National Convention address where she lampooned President George Bush with the barb, "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
Richards recalled it was a "crapshoot" that she was invited to make that speech, when as Texas treasurer she was virtually unknown on the national stage. Then her words went on to set the tone for the convention, she said.
"We worked very hard in crafting it," she said.
Richards, now a senior adviser with Austin-based Public Strategies Inc., said she practices the perfect comic timing that seems to come naturally.
"Good speech-making doesn't happen by accident. People don't just get up and talk and make a memorable speech," she said. "It's never easy. Like any other skill, it's something you develop over time."
The work starts with the writing, which should sound conversational and absent the monosyllabic words that make the delivery sound stiff, Richards said.
"It has to touch and reach the emotions of the audience in some fashion. It has to tell stories because that's really all people remember is stories. It has to contain phrasing that causes the members of the audience to see a picture," she said. "In my case it always has to contain humor because humor is the great leveler. It clears the air and allows the mind to open up and receive new ideas and information."
Richard Enos, who teaches rhetoric at Texas Christian University, said he believes the best speeches endure because they connect with the values of the moment.
"What's great about (the King) speech is it doesn't matter if you are black or white, hearing it in the 1960s or now, it transcends political groups and speaks to what this dream of America is about," Enos said. "He was able to solidify whole groups of people. He struck a chord that resonated."
Many compare the speech to President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, also considered one of America's best orations.
These speeches are popular because they captured turning points associated with one of the nation's most emotional subjects, Lucas said.
"It's not by coincidence that both of those speeches deal with the most complex and significant moral issues in American history, which is the question of race relations," he said.
Jordan, who died in 1996, is remembered for giving the 1976 Democratic National Convention address and a 1974 speech as a member of the House Judiciary Committee that considered impeachment charges against Nixon.
She loved to write her own speeches, but in her later years she sought help to handle the numerous requests for public speaking engagements, said Max Woodfin, her speechwriter in 1991-97.
"She was such a great orator and had such a great sound that people listened to every word," Woodfin said. "She could make fairly run-of-the-mill sentences sound well-thought-out and profound. She just had that gift."
Woodfin said most people hire speechwriters to save time, not because they can't write.
"They want to give the best speech possible, but they know the biggest block of time is in the research and writing the first draft. This way they can concentrate on the delivery and polish rather than the grunt work of putting it down on paper for the first time," he said.
While addresses that touch on political or social issues often are the best remembered, other noteworthy orations have been delivered at college graduations, at the Academy Awards podium or in the boardroom.
Members of Toastmasters, an organization that gives nervous speakers a forum to practice and improve, understand the difficulty of giving a moving speech. The best ones affect people personally or call them to action, said Chip Fowler, president of Metrospeakers Toastmasters.
"After being in Toastmasters and watching people screw up on delivery day to day, it's obvious that it's not that easy," Fowler said.
But people who want to speak well publicly can do it, Richards insisted, assuming they take the time to hone their skills.
"It's very hard work," she said. "When I finish a speech to this day, I'm really tired. It really takes it out of you."
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TexasStooge
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Man drove into hospital lobby 'to see a doctor'
By ALAN MELSON / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - A Waxahachie man who held police at bay near Dallas’ Kennedy Memorial last May drew attention to himself again this week when he drove his vehicle into a hospital waiting room.
Waxahachie Police Deputy Chief Brett Colston said Friday that Glenn Edward Whittington, 52, drove his Suburban through a wall into the outpatient lobby at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie around 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Sheryl Sullivan, a hospital spokeswoman, said Mr. Whittington was admitted to the hospital with minor injuries following the incident, and was listed in good condition Friday afternoon.
No staff or patients were injured, she said.
Chief Colston said Mr. Whittington told police that he intentionally drove into the building because he “wanted to see a doctor,” adding that he previously had checked to make sure no one was inside the waiting area.
Witnesses reported seeing the SUV circle the hospital multiple times before the incident, Chief Colston said.
On May 28, 2005, Mr. Whittington drove up to the Kennedy Memorial in downtown Dallas in a Rolls-Royce and caught officers' attention by threatening to harm himself with a Civil War-era sword. Officers disabled him with an electric jolt from a Taser gun and took him to Parkland Memorial Hospital for observation. No charges were filed in that incident.
Ms. Sullivan said damage caused by Wednesday’s incident is under repair, and has not affected operations at the hospital.
“We haven't yet determined a damage estimate, but it was not as extensive as it could have been,” she said.
Chief Colston said no charges were immediately filed against Mr. Whittington.
By ALAN MELSON / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - A Waxahachie man who held police at bay near Dallas’ Kennedy Memorial last May drew attention to himself again this week when he drove his vehicle into a hospital waiting room.
Waxahachie Police Deputy Chief Brett Colston said Friday that Glenn Edward Whittington, 52, drove his Suburban through a wall into the outpatient lobby at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie around 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Sheryl Sullivan, a hospital spokeswoman, said Mr. Whittington was admitted to the hospital with minor injuries following the incident, and was listed in good condition Friday afternoon.
No staff or patients were injured, she said.
Chief Colston said Mr. Whittington told police that he intentionally drove into the building because he “wanted to see a doctor,” adding that he previously had checked to make sure no one was inside the waiting area.
Witnesses reported seeing the SUV circle the hospital multiple times before the incident, Chief Colston said.
On May 28, 2005, Mr. Whittington drove up to the Kennedy Memorial in downtown Dallas in a Rolls-Royce and caught officers' attention by threatening to harm himself with a Civil War-era sword. Officers disabled him with an electric jolt from a Taser gun and took him to Parkland Memorial Hospital for observation. No charges were filed in that incident.
Ms. Sullivan said damage caused by Wednesday’s incident is under repair, and has not affected operations at the hospital.
“We haven't yet determined a damage estimate, but it was not as extensive as it could have been,” she said.
Chief Colston said no charges were immediately filed against Mr. Whittington.
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TexasStooge
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Police question woman's carjack story
By Matthew Zabel / Denton Record-Chronicle
DENTON, Texas - A 30-year-old Denton woman was being treated at a Dallas hospital for stab wounds she said she received when she tried to stop a man from stealing her sport utility vehicle from the parking lot of the Hickory Creek Wal-Mart Friday.
But investigators aren't sure they believe her story. "There are a lot of inconsistencies and loose ends in her story," said Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff's Office, which is helping Hickory Creek police investigate the case. "Investigators are going to try to interview her and find out what happened."
Reedy said a Wal-Mart employee called 911 shortly before 1 p.m. after someone saw her lying in the median in the parking lot under a small tree with stab wounds in her abdomen and her left leg.
Paramedics found a knife with a broken-off blade and blood on it near the crime scene and believed the knife may have been broken off inside her, said Chad Brinlee, Hickory Creek's acting police chief.
The woman was airlifted to a Dallas hospital where she was treated and was expected to be released Friday evening, Brinlee said.
He said the woman reported she walked up on a man who was trying to steal her 2004 Dodge Durango, and he stabbed her and drove away. But police found the woman's Durango about two parking lot rows away from where she was lying in the parking lot, Brinlee said.
"An officer found it -- locked up and all neat and tidy, and she had the keys," Brinlee said.
Reedy said Wal-Mart surveillance tape showed the vehicle had been parked in the same spot since 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Brinlee said it is possible that the woman stabbed herself, and he didn't know yet whether she would face charges for giving a false report to police.
Brinlee said police had no suspects in the stabbing, but they do have "a couple of pretty good leads." "I feel fairly confident we'll wrap this up quickly," he said.
By Matthew Zabel / Denton Record-Chronicle
DENTON, Texas - A 30-year-old Denton woman was being treated at a Dallas hospital for stab wounds she said she received when she tried to stop a man from stealing her sport utility vehicle from the parking lot of the Hickory Creek Wal-Mart Friday.
But investigators aren't sure they believe her story. "There are a lot of inconsistencies and loose ends in her story," said Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff's Office, which is helping Hickory Creek police investigate the case. "Investigators are going to try to interview her and find out what happened."
Reedy said a Wal-Mart employee called 911 shortly before 1 p.m. after someone saw her lying in the median in the parking lot under a small tree with stab wounds in her abdomen and her left leg.
Paramedics found a knife with a broken-off blade and blood on it near the crime scene and believed the knife may have been broken off inside her, said Chad Brinlee, Hickory Creek's acting police chief.
The woman was airlifted to a Dallas hospital where she was treated and was expected to be released Friday evening, Brinlee said.
He said the woman reported she walked up on a man who was trying to steal her 2004 Dodge Durango, and he stabbed her and drove away. But police found the woman's Durango about two parking lot rows away from where she was lying in the parking lot, Brinlee said.
"An officer found it -- locked up and all neat and tidy, and she had the keys," Brinlee said.
Reedy said Wal-Mart surveillance tape showed the vehicle had been parked in the same spot since 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Brinlee said it is possible that the woman stabbed herself, and he didn't know yet whether she would face charges for giving a false report to police.
Brinlee said police had no suspects in the stabbing, but they do have "a couple of pretty good leads." "I feel fairly confident we'll wrap this up quickly," he said.
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TexasStooge
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Army's invitation flattering, but soldier's life not for 87-year-old
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - She hasn't done a pushup in ages. But that didn't keep Uncle Sam from offering Lillye England up to $20,000 to join the Army.
The hitch: She's 87.
Mrs. England, a west Oak Cliff grandmother, received a personalized invitation from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command this week to learn more about a career as a soldier.
"They want me to join the Army, how about that?" Mrs. England said. "You suppose that could be a mistake?"
Uh, yeah. This from Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the recruiting command, based at Fort Knox, Ky.: "There's such a large direct mail campaign for all of the services. Names of people who aren't eligible to enlist are sometimes included."
As a girl Mrs. England used to blast away with a rifle at the gophers near the family farm in North Dakota.
But given her hearing aid and osteoarthritis, not to mention her age, she wouldn't be eligible to enlist. Beginning next week, the Army is raising its maximum age for enlistees from 34 to 40.
Waivers for age and medical ailments sometimes are granted.
"But the person has to be able to perform the duties of a soldier," Mr. Smith said.
Mrs. England's daughter, Jonnie, thought her mother could use the $20,000 maximum signing bonus given to some recruits and the Army medical care.
"Those are pretty awesome benefits, especially for someone who is 87," she said.
Mrs. England will still get a bonus – a free knit cap with Army logo for returning the information card. But she's not interested in becoming a soldier.
"I don't think the military would have me," she said. "I just cannot get up early in the morning."
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - She hasn't done a pushup in ages. But that didn't keep Uncle Sam from offering Lillye England up to $20,000 to join the Army.
The hitch: She's 87.
Mrs. England, a west Oak Cliff grandmother, received a personalized invitation from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command this week to learn more about a career as a soldier.
"They want me to join the Army, how about that?" Mrs. England said. "You suppose that could be a mistake?"
Uh, yeah. This from Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the recruiting command, based at Fort Knox, Ky.: "There's such a large direct mail campaign for all of the services. Names of people who aren't eligible to enlist are sometimes included."
As a girl Mrs. England used to blast away with a rifle at the gophers near the family farm in North Dakota.
But given her hearing aid and osteoarthritis, not to mention her age, she wouldn't be eligible to enlist. Beginning next week, the Army is raising its maximum age for enlistees from 34 to 40.
Waivers for age and medical ailments sometimes are granted.
"But the person has to be able to perform the duties of a soldier," Mr. Smith said.
Mrs. England's daughter, Jonnie, thought her mother could use the $20,000 maximum signing bonus given to some recruits and the Army medical care.
"Those are pretty awesome benefits, especially for someone who is 87," she said.
Mrs. England will still get a bonus – a free knit cap with Army logo for returning the information card. But she's not interested in becoming a soldier.
"I don't think the military would have me," she said. "I just cannot get up early in the morning."
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TexasStooge
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Unexpected crowd foils band's appearance
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - They were expecting 3,000 fans.
Instead, nearly 10,000 young people showed up at a Dallas Wal-Mart store Friday night to see a popular Mexican singing group.
That's when things got out of hand.
The crowd grew unruly after an autograph-signing session with members of the Latino group Rebelde was canceled at the store, located at Interstate 30 and Cockrell Hill Road. Wal-Mart officials said the crowd was just too big.
"We couldn't get the people into the store to do the signing, so that's why we decided to cancel it—for their safety as well as the customers that were outside," explained store manager Lee Ruiz.
Fans who had waited up to six hours to see the group grew angry, chanting the word "liars" in Spanish.
"This is so not fair," said one young woman who had been waiting in line. "They knew they were going to have all these people here."
Dallas police established a mobile command post in the store's parking lot and dispatched officers in full riot gear to manage the unruly crowd, which was eventually dispersed without major incident.
Rebelde's Web site offered an apology to its fans for the incident. The group was scheduled to make promotional appearances in Washington, D.C. on Saturday and in New York on Sunday.
The members of Rebelde were first discovered as actors on a Brazilian soap opera. They put together a song for the show, and their careers as singers took off.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - They were expecting 3,000 fans.
Instead, nearly 10,000 young people showed up at a Dallas Wal-Mart store Friday night to see a popular Mexican singing group.
That's when things got out of hand.
The crowd grew unruly after an autograph-signing session with members of the Latino group Rebelde was canceled at the store, located at Interstate 30 and Cockrell Hill Road. Wal-Mart officials said the crowd was just too big.
"We couldn't get the people into the store to do the signing, so that's why we decided to cancel it—for their safety as well as the customers that were outside," explained store manager Lee Ruiz.
Fans who had waited up to six hours to see the group grew angry, chanting the word "liars" in Spanish.
"This is so not fair," said one young woman who had been waiting in line. "They knew they were going to have all these people here."
Dallas police established a mobile command post in the store's parking lot and dispatched officers in full riot gear to manage the unruly crowd, which was eventually dispersed without major incident.
Rebelde's Web site offered an apology to its fans for the incident. The group was scheduled to make promotional appearances in Washington, D.C. on Saturday and in New York on Sunday.
The members of Rebelde were first discovered as actors on a Brazilian soap opera. They put together a song for the show, and their careers as singers took off.
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TexasStooge
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Study: Lottery not for rich
Players who spent most had least education, lower incomes
By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas lottery's best customers are players with lower levels of income and education, according to a demographic study done for Texas Lottery Commission.
The study, which surveyed 1,700 people, found that people who didn't finish high school spent $50 a month on lottery tickets, while college graduates spent $20 a month. The poorest Texans reported spending about $36 a month, while the wealthiest spent $20 a month.
The Texas Lottery Commission accepted the analysis but cautioned its critics against concluding that the poor and undereducated play too much.
"We hope that we promote fun products for people, and they should use their judgment when it comes to spending," said Bobby Heith, a commission spokesman.
But an Austin think tank that advocates for poor and moderate-income Texans said only one conclusion could be drawn: Lower-income people spend a higher percentage of their pay on the lottery.
"We are talking about people who are barely able to put food on the table and pay the rent, so every dollar counts for them," said Dick Lavine, senior fiscal analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Some anti-gambling lawmakers used results of the study last year to beat back attempts to legalize slot machines.
The 2004 study determined that people without high school diplomas spent $173 a month on lottery games, while college graduates spent $49.
The lottery commission has tended to emphasize the findings about who plays, rather than how much they spend. The University of Texas at Arlington's School of Urban and Public Affairs conducted this year's survey.
Fifty percent of whites reported playing the lottery in the past year, while 58 percent of blacks bought tickets and about 51 percent of Hispanics played.
Blacks spent the most – $57 a month. Whites spent about $20 a month, and Hispanics spent $40.
The difference based on education level was even more pronounced.
People who did not graduate from high school spent about $50 a month on lottery games. High school graduates spent about $35, and college graduates spent only $20. Those with graduate degrees spent slightly more than $10.
For the first time since 1993, the study found that lottery participation increased over the previous year. In 2004, 47 percent of respondents said they played a lottery game. The figure rose to 51 percent in 2005.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New lottery boss
AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – Lawyer and former lottery commissioner Anthony Sadberry was chosen Friday to temporarily lead the Texas lottery as the search continues for a permanent executive director.
Mr. Sadberry, 56, takes over from deputy director Gary Grief, acting executive director since Reagan Greer resigned. State law limits agency employees to serving no longer than six months as the lottery's temporary chief.
Players who spent most had least education, lower incomes
By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas lottery's best customers are players with lower levels of income and education, according to a demographic study done for Texas Lottery Commission.
The study, which surveyed 1,700 people, found that people who didn't finish high school spent $50 a month on lottery tickets, while college graduates spent $20 a month. The poorest Texans reported spending about $36 a month, while the wealthiest spent $20 a month.
The Texas Lottery Commission accepted the analysis but cautioned its critics against concluding that the poor and undereducated play too much.
"We hope that we promote fun products for people, and they should use their judgment when it comes to spending," said Bobby Heith, a commission spokesman.
But an Austin think tank that advocates for poor and moderate-income Texans said only one conclusion could be drawn: Lower-income people spend a higher percentage of their pay on the lottery.
"We are talking about people who are barely able to put food on the table and pay the rent, so every dollar counts for them," said Dick Lavine, senior fiscal analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Some anti-gambling lawmakers used results of the study last year to beat back attempts to legalize slot machines.
The 2004 study determined that people without high school diplomas spent $173 a month on lottery games, while college graduates spent $49.
The lottery commission has tended to emphasize the findings about who plays, rather than how much they spend. The University of Texas at Arlington's School of Urban and Public Affairs conducted this year's survey.
Fifty percent of whites reported playing the lottery in the past year, while 58 percent of blacks bought tickets and about 51 percent of Hispanics played.
Blacks spent the most – $57 a month. Whites spent about $20 a month, and Hispanics spent $40.
The difference based on education level was even more pronounced.
People who did not graduate from high school spent about $50 a month on lottery games. High school graduates spent about $35, and college graduates spent only $20. Those with graduate degrees spent slightly more than $10.
For the first time since 1993, the study found that lottery participation increased over the previous year. In 2004, 47 percent of respondents said they played a lottery game. The figure rose to 51 percent in 2005.
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New lottery boss
AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – Lawyer and former lottery commissioner Anthony Sadberry was chosen Friday to temporarily lead the Texas lottery as the search continues for a permanent executive director.
Mr. Sadberry, 56, takes over from deputy director Gary Grief, acting executive director since Reagan Greer resigned. State law limits agency employees to serving no longer than six months as the lottery's temporary chief.
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TexasStooge
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Harry Potter the dog swaps spells for top breeding
Irving: Trainer hopes her corgis snag the highest title at national contest
By KRISTIE RODRIGUEZ / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – Elizabeth Macnair of Irving knows what the judges will be looking for at the fifth annual American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship this weekend.
"The saying goes that 'show dogs are born, not made,' " Ms. Macnair said in an e-mail. "That speaks to how well the dog is bred and how pretty the dog is, but also speaks to the dog's temperament. Every breeder wants to produce beautiful puppies, but not every puppy will be a top winner. A show dog has that extra sparkle that catches the eye, and we can't train a dog to be happy."
Ms. Macnair has been invited to bring her Cardigan Welsh corgis – named Harry Potter and Libby – to the renowned event, which will be televised live from Tampa, Fla.
The event will feature more than 2,600 dogs from 20 countries, representing Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Each dog will be competing for $225,000 in cash and the title of national champion.
Being invited to the competition is an accomplishment on its own. According to the AKC Web site, invitations are issued only to dogs that rank in the top 25 of their breed based on yearlong competition in other club events.
Harry Potter has been the top-ranked Cardigan Welsh corgi for the past three years and is the second-ranked herding group dog in the U.S. He has competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show four times and won Best of Breed each time.
Libby, Harry Potter's half-sister, was invited to this year's competition for the first time, but at age 2 has already won several best breed awards.
At the competition, Ms. Macnair will be joined by her good friend and former co-owner of Harry Potter, Jacque Schatz of Kansas City, Mo.
At age 40, Ms. Macnair has spent nearly 30 years breeding, training and showing dogs. Her mother was also a Cardigan Welsh corgi breeder.
Ms. Macnair said her many years of experience have taught her that dog training is really about training the owner.
"To elicit a response, you have to know what you want first," Ms. Macnair said. "I know this was also true for me in raising my son, Allen, who is now 17. To raise Allen, I had to train myself to be a good parent."
Dog trainers also have to be consistent and be committed to giving their pet attention every day, she said.
Though she expects this weekend's competition to be friendly, all of the competitors want to show their best.
"As breeders, this is where we get the chance to validate all our planning, hard work, joy and heartache, and we all want those bragging rights," Ms. Macnair said. "When I walk into the ring, I am there to win, and so is everyone else."
Irving: Trainer hopes her corgis snag the highest title at national contest
By KRISTIE RODRIGUEZ / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – Elizabeth Macnair of Irving knows what the judges will be looking for at the fifth annual American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship this weekend.
"The saying goes that 'show dogs are born, not made,' " Ms. Macnair said in an e-mail. "That speaks to how well the dog is bred and how pretty the dog is, but also speaks to the dog's temperament. Every breeder wants to produce beautiful puppies, but not every puppy will be a top winner. A show dog has that extra sparkle that catches the eye, and we can't train a dog to be happy."
Ms. Macnair has been invited to bring her Cardigan Welsh corgis – named Harry Potter and Libby – to the renowned event, which will be televised live from Tampa, Fla.
The event will feature more than 2,600 dogs from 20 countries, representing Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Each dog will be competing for $225,000 in cash and the title of national champion.
Being invited to the competition is an accomplishment on its own. According to the AKC Web site, invitations are issued only to dogs that rank in the top 25 of their breed based on yearlong competition in other club events.
Harry Potter has been the top-ranked Cardigan Welsh corgi for the past three years and is the second-ranked herding group dog in the U.S. He has competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show four times and won Best of Breed each time.
Libby, Harry Potter's half-sister, was invited to this year's competition for the first time, but at age 2 has already won several best breed awards.
At the competition, Ms. Macnair will be joined by her good friend and former co-owner of Harry Potter, Jacque Schatz of Kansas City, Mo.
At age 40, Ms. Macnair has spent nearly 30 years breeding, training and showing dogs. Her mother was also a Cardigan Welsh corgi breeder.
Ms. Macnair said her many years of experience have taught her that dog training is really about training the owner.
"To elicit a response, you have to know what you want first," Ms. Macnair said. "I know this was also true for me in raising my son, Allen, who is now 17. To raise Allen, I had to train myself to be a good parent."
Dog trainers also have to be consistent and be committed to giving their pet attention every day, she said.
Though she expects this weekend's competition to be friendly, all of the competitors want to show their best.
"As breeders, this is where we get the chance to validate all our planning, hard work, joy and heartache, and we all want those bragging rights," Ms. Macnair said. "When I walk into the ring, I am there to win, and so is everyone else."
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TexasStooge
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Older homes ahead of their time
Irving: Resident wants due for Plymouth Park
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – With tall windows, exposed wood beams and high ceilings, Cecelia Guthrie's home feels like it was built just a few years ago.
But the south Irving house is more than 50 years old.
Preservationists say Ms. Guthrie's house, and numerous others in the Plymouth Park neighborhood, are historically significant because of their contemporary design. Many of the houses were built with air conditioning in the '50s, unusual at the time.
Ms. Guthrie wants to raise awareness of the houses. They're special, she said, and should be preserved and recognized.
"The houses were unique for their time, and I think they're unique today," she said. "Irving should pay attention to this."
Plymouth Park is home to at least 30 houses like Ms. Guthrie's, city officials say. The houses resemble California ranch-style homes, with low-pitched roofs and tall windows, said Dwayne Jones, executive director of Preservation Dallas.
They were probably inspired by a designer named Cliff May, considered the father of the ranch house, Mr. Jones said. While Mr. May's homes have been discovered in Dallas, Mr. Jones isn't aware of evidence that he designed the Irving houses.
Regardless of the designer, the houses are significant, said Mr. Jones, who has seen the Plymouth Park homes. The neighborhood was one of a handful in Dallas-Fort Worth in the '50s that included affordable homes with modern design, he said.
Air conditioning also makes houses like Ms. Guthrie's stand out, said Keith Parkhurst, Irving's preservation and redevelopment coordinator. Ms. Guthrie said her home's air conditioning amazed visitors and relatives back in the day.
The Dallas Morning News trumpeted the novelty of the Plymouth Park air conditioning in numerous stories in the '50s.
A 1955 article reported that a construction company was honored by the Carrier Corp. for its work in Plymouth Park in building "the nation's largest all air-conditioned home development."
Plymouth Park, just south of Airport Freeway, is one of Irving's older neighborhoods and sprouted after World War II. In Plymouth Park, builders created a community, where houses were built near churches and businesses, rather than a subdivision, Mr. Jones said.
Ms. Guthrie, who believes her house was built in 1950 or 1951, moved to the home in Plymouth Park in 1961 and raised her family. She loves her home's character, as well as its open layout and contemporary feel.
"It's not a boxy house," she said.
This isn't your grandma's house, even though Ms. Guthrie is a grandmother.
Walk through the front door and there are unobstructed views of the living and dining rooms and a partial view of the kitchen. Light spills through original floor-to-ceiling windows. Wood beams line the ceiling. Peach-colored driftwood paneling covers the walls, and original recessed lighting runs throughout the one-story house.
Ms. Guthrie got interested in doing something about the Plymouth Park houses after reading a recent newspaper article about Mr. May's Dallas homes. She noticed similarities between the May houses and her home.
She joins a growing trend of homeowners and preservationists interested in post-World War II architecture, Mr. Jones said. Many don't realize their 1950s-era homes can be historic.
In 2002, the Department of the Interior published the first national guidelines for the preservation of residential suburbs. Throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, many cities are taking a closer look at preserving postwar neighborhood homes.
Mr. Parkhurst appreciates Ms. Guthrie's interest and would like more people to get interested in the history of their neighborhoods and homes.
"It shows that people want to be interested in being proactive and protecting what they have," he said. "I think it's a positive sign for the community."
Mr. Jones encourages Ms. Guthrie and other residents do more research, including searching newspaper archives and records of who built, designed and lived in the houses. Ms. Guthrie hopes neighbors join the preservation effort.
The Plymouth Park homes could receive a state subject marker, Mr. Parkhurst said, but it will depend on the neighborhood's interest. Another possibility is a national register district, Mr. Jones said.
Ms. Guthrie has no plans to move, although she says she's concerned with what she calls the deteriorating nature of the city's south side. She says she can't find another house with similar character at a reasonable price.
"I don't want to move," she said. "I don't even want to think about moving."
Irving: Resident wants due for Plymouth Park
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – With tall windows, exposed wood beams and high ceilings, Cecelia Guthrie's home feels like it was built just a few years ago.
But the south Irving house is more than 50 years old.
Preservationists say Ms. Guthrie's house, and numerous others in the Plymouth Park neighborhood, are historically significant because of their contemporary design. Many of the houses were built with air conditioning in the '50s, unusual at the time.
Ms. Guthrie wants to raise awareness of the houses. They're special, she said, and should be preserved and recognized.
"The houses were unique for their time, and I think they're unique today," she said. "Irving should pay attention to this."
Plymouth Park is home to at least 30 houses like Ms. Guthrie's, city officials say. The houses resemble California ranch-style homes, with low-pitched roofs and tall windows, said Dwayne Jones, executive director of Preservation Dallas.
They were probably inspired by a designer named Cliff May, considered the father of the ranch house, Mr. Jones said. While Mr. May's homes have been discovered in Dallas, Mr. Jones isn't aware of evidence that he designed the Irving houses.
Regardless of the designer, the houses are significant, said Mr. Jones, who has seen the Plymouth Park homes. The neighborhood was one of a handful in Dallas-Fort Worth in the '50s that included affordable homes with modern design, he said.
Air conditioning also makes houses like Ms. Guthrie's stand out, said Keith Parkhurst, Irving's preservation and redevelopment coordinator. Ms. Guthrie said her home's air conditioning amazed visitors and relatives back in the day.
The Dallas Morning News trumpeted the novelty of the Plymouth Park air conditioning in numerous stories in the '50s.
A 1955 article reported that a construction company was honored by the Carrier Corp. for its work in Plymouth Park in building "the nation's largest all air-conditioned home development."
Plymouth Park, just south of Airport Freeway, is one of Irving's older neighborhoods and sprouted after World War II. In Plymouth Park, builders created a community, where houses were built near churches and businesses, rather than a subdivision, Mr. Jones said.
Ms. Guthrie, who believes her house was built in 1950 or 1951, moved to the home in Plymouth Park in 1961 and raised her family. She loves her home's character, as well as its open layout and contemporary feel.
"It's not a boxy house," she said.
This isn't your grandma's house, even though Ms. Guthrie is a grandmother.
Walk through the front door and there are unobstructed views of the living and dining rooms and a partial view of the kitchen. Light spills through original floor-to-ceiling windows. Wood beams line the ceiling. Peach-colored driftwood paneling covers the walls, and original recessed lighting runs throughout the one-story house.
Ms. Guthrie got interested in doing something about the Plymouth Park houses after reading a recent newspaper article about Mr. May's Dallas homes. She noticed similarities between the May houses and her home.
She joins a growing trend of homeowners and preservationists interested in post-World War II architecture, Mr. Jones said. Many don't realize their 1950s-era homes can be historic.
In 2002, the Department of the Interior published the first national guidelines for the preservation of residential suburbs. Throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, many cities are taking a closer look at preserving postwar neighborhood homes.
Mr. Parkhurst appreciates Ms. Guthrie's interest and would like more people to get interested in the history of their neighborhoods and homes.
"It shows that people want to be interested in being proactive and protecting what they have," he said. "I think it's a positive sign for the community."
Mr. Jones encourages Ms. Guthrie and other residents do more research, including searching newspaper archives and records of who built, designed and lived in the houses. Ms. Guthrie hopes neighbors join the preservation effort.
The Plymouth Park homes could receive a state subject marker, Mr. Parkhurst said, but it will depend on the neighborhood's interest. Another possibility is a national register district, Mr. Jones said.
Ms. Guthrie has no plans to move, although she says she's concerned with what she calls the deteriorating nature of the city's south side. She says she can't find another house with similar character at a reasonable price.
"I don't want to move," she said. "I don't even want to think about moving."
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TexasStooge
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TXU fee irks fire victim
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - An $8 fee may not seem like a lot of money to pay, but for one of the victims of Thursday's huge condominium fire in Dallas, it only added insult to injury.
Adine Bagheri said it was the worst day of her life. She lost her home and everything inside.
Without a place to live, she called TXU Energy, which supplied her electric power. She explained why she had to cancel her account. But the response on the other end of the was line totally unexpected.
"At first, I thought he was joking," Bagheri recalled. "'You're seriously going to charge me an $8 cancellation fee?'"
So she complained to a supervisor, who was unwilling to rescind the fee.
"I was frustrated," Bagheri said. "How is a big company—a local company—getting away with actually benefitting off of somebody else's loss? That's not okay with me."
Then the TXU representative asked her where they could send the final bill. "I said, 'No, you don't understand; the meters are gone; there's no meters for your men to come and read," Bagheri said.
The electric company representative said they didn't need to read the meters; the final bill would be based on prior usage.
"I was shocked," Bagheri said. "I just laughed because it was like I just lost everything. It was like adding salt to an open wound."
TXU has now apologized to Adine Bagheri, saying she should not have been charged the cancellation fee. "Our hearts go out to the families that have gone through this tragic situation," said TXU spokeswoman Sophia Stoller. "We are going to be taking care of our customers. We have already waived all cancellation fees for all TXU customers who have gone through this tragic situation, and we're here to assist them through it."
The company said it would investigate why the customer representatives and their supervisor failed to waive the cancellation fee.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - An $8 fee may not seem like a lot of money to pay, but for one of the victims of Thursday's huge condominium fire in Dallas, it only added insult to injury.
Adine Bagheri said it was the worst day of her life. She lost her home and everything inside.
Without a place to live, she called TXU Energy, which supplied her electric power. She explained why she had to cancel her account. But the response on the other end of the was line totally unexpected.
"At first, I thought he was joking," Bagheri recalled. "'You're seriously going to charge me an $8 cancellation fee?'"
So she complained to a supervisor, who was unwilling to rescind the fee.
"I was frustrated," Bagheri said. "How is a big company—a local company—getting away with actually benefitting off of somebody else's loss? That's not okay with me."
Then the TXU representative asked her where they could send the final bill. "I said, 'No, you don't understand; the meters are gone; there's no meters for your men to come and read," Bagheri said.
The electric company representative said they didn't need to read the meters; the final bill would be based on prior usage.
"I was shocked," Bagheri said. "I just laughed because it was like I just lost everything. It was like adding salt to an open wound."
TXU has now apologized to Adine Bagheri, saying she should not have been charged the cancellation fee. "Our hearts go out to the families that have gone through this tragic situation," said TXU spokeswoman Sophia Stoller. "We are going to be taking care of our customers. We have already waived all cancellation fees for all TXU customers who have gone through this tragic situation, and we're here to assist them through it."
The company said it would investigate why the customer representatives and their supervisor failed to waive the cancellation fee.
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TexasStooge
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Carrollton standoff ends without incident
CARROLLTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A five-hour police standoff in Carrollton ended late Saturday with no casualties and a suspect in custody.
Police said the incident started around 6 p.m. when neighbors reported hearing a gunshot at the Cambria at Coyote Ridge Apartments at Highway 121 and Hebron Parkway.
When police arrived, a man inside one of the units threatened to injure himself. Officials were also concerned about the safety of a woman in the same apartment.
A perimiter was set up around the apartment and police brought in a negotiator to get the subject to come to the door.
Officers decided to take action after the tense situation had dragged on for more than five hours.
"We basically got to the door and got the door open; called him out one more time," said Sgt. David Sponhour. "He did come to the door, at which time we took him down—took him into custody. He is okay."
Authorities said the woman inside the apartment was the man's mother, and she was unhurt.
The man was taken into custody and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas for a psychiatric evaluation.
Displaced apartment residents were allowed to return to their homes after the situation was secured.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
CARROLLTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A five-hour police standoff in Carrollton ended late Saturday with no casualties and a suspect in custody.
Police said the incident started around 6 p.m. when neighbors reported hearing a gunshot at the Cambria at Coyote Ridge Apartments at Highway 121 and Hebron Parkway.
When police arrived, a man inside one of the units threatened to injure himself. Officials were also concerned about the safety of a woman in the same apartment.
A perimiter was set up around the apartment and police brought in a negotiator to get the subject to come to the door.
Officers decided to take action after the tense situation had dragged on for more than five hours.
"We basically got to the door and got the door open; called him out one more time," said Sgt. David Sponhour. "He did come to the door, at which time we took him down—took him into custody. He is okay."
Authorities said the woman inside the apartment was the man's mother, and she was unhurt.
The man was taken into custody and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas for a psychiatric evaluation.
Displaced apartment residents were allowed to return to their homes after the situation was secured.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
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Insurance gap at root of kids' teeth troubles
Working poor find costs, Medicaid restrictions hurting dental care
By KAREN M. THOMAS / The Dallas Morning News
Last spring, Delma Hernandez's son told her his teeth hurt. The single mother of two rubbed Orajel on them. She gave him Tylenol. Then she apologized.
"I'm sorry your teeth hurt," she told her 8-year-old. "But Mommy can't afford to take you to the dentist."
Ms. Hernandez and thousands of low-income parents like her cannot find affordable dental care.
At stake are young lives that can be permanently altered by dental disease. It could be easily prevented, experts say. But in Dallas recently:
•A toddler with a mouthful of cavities went untreated because a community clinic was not equipped to sedate her and her mother couldn't afford to take her elsewhere.
•A 9-year-old with nine cavities planned nine visits to a low-cost clinic, because even there her parents could afford to treat only one tooth at a time.
•An 8-year-old, who lost Medicaid coverage when his mother began work, returned to the dentist when he complained of pain and needed five fillings and three teeth removed.
Children with untreated cavities and dental infections experience chronic low-grade pain, occasionally replaced by high-grade pain. Children with chronic pain are inattentive, less likely to sleep soundly or eat fully and unable to learn well.
Clinic directors and children's dental health advocates say dental problems are the leading cause of school absenteeism among low-income children.
The more severe the childhood decay, the more likely that their suffering will continue into adulthood. Heart disease and other health conditions have been linked to dental infections, they say. And it could even push families further into poverty since many low-income workers land in service-industry jobs in which appearance matters and missing teeth may keep them from being hired.
The state's Children's Health Insurance Program cut dental benefits in 2003. Even though legislation to restore them was passed last spring, coverage still hasn't been made available. Other children are left hunting for pediatric dentists who take Medicaid. Many struggle against cultural, financial and educational barriers to proper care.
The lack of access to dental care is contributing to the chasm between poor children and their wealthier counterparts. While most children nationwide now have access to fluoride, sealants and other advances that protect their teeth, the poorest children still lack access, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poor kids nationwide represent 25 percent of all children and experience 80 percent of the decay, according to the Children's Dental Health Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.
"They have become, essentially, invisible," says Dr. Burton Edelstein, a professor of clinical dentistry at Columbia University in New York and founding director of the project. "There is a significant gap."
According to the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, nearly 152,000 medically uninsured children live in Dallas County. A report on oral health issued by the U.S. surgeon general estimates that for every medically uninsured child, 2.6 lack dental coverage. That means there could be more than 395,000 dentally uninsured children in Dallas County.
For some poor families, life is prioritized to the point where dentistry is at the bottom.
"It's true that sometimes low-income parents are less motivated to bring their children to the dentist. But they have other issues they are dealing with. You have to understand that," says Paul Hoffmann, executive director of Community Dental Care, a nonprofit organization that runs nine Dallas-area clinics. The organization says it's the largest nonprofit provider of routine and preventive care and dental health education in Texas. In 2005, the organization treated more than 12,000 children, Mr. Hoffmann said.
Even families that qualify for Medicaid and are guaranteed dental benefits for their children have a hard time finding care. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2.26 million Texas children are on Medicaid, and about half, 1.16 million, received dental care in 2005.
Part of the problem is that not many pediatric dentists accept Medicaid patients. Many that do limit them to a small percentage of their practice. Dentists cite cumbersome paperwork and low reimbursement rates.
Dr. Robert Morgan, a pediatric dentist with a thriving practice in Irving and Richardson, says dental students are advised to steer away from Medicaid patients because it isn't financially feasible. It's advice he says he never bought.
"There are those of us that walk into this with our eyes open. I will not make money," he says about the care he gives his Medicaid patients, which represent 20 percent of his practice. "In fact, I will reach into my pocket.
"But I will do this because ethically and morally as a health care provider, this is what God expects us to do for our children," he says.
Dr. Morgan says that he welcomes the coming restoration of CHIP dental benefits. The state legislation restored the benefit and others last spring. But negotiations with a dental provider have dragged on, and state officials now say children won't receive CHIP dental care until at least April 1.
But CHIP will not solve the larger problem for many low-income children, Dr. Morgan says. Many need expensive work beyond basic care, including root canals and other procedures.
"It's a great program, but the problem is this: It has a $400 maximum. For the more complicated cases – those who need, say, $2,000 to $3,000 worth of work – their parents are supposed to make up the difference. What are you supposed to do when they can't?" he says.
Finding private-practice dentists such as Dr. Morgan is hard. Many private dentists who take Medicaid have waiting lists as long as nine months, he says.
The wait and lack of access lead straight to the emergency room, where physicians can treat only pain and infection, not the cause.
Meanwhile, clinics such as the ones run by Community Dental Care have become the safety net for the low-income, uninsured and underinsured. Children lucky enough to find such care pay far below market rates, thanks to grants and partnerships.
"We have to see these children," says Mr. Hoffmann. "Who else will see them?"
Here are three stories of those struggling to keep children healthy.
A CYCLE OF PAIN
She's too young to treat without costlier care Ana Alvarado holds her toddler on her lap. She has come to the DeHaro-Saldivar Community Outreach Patient Care Dental Clinic in Oak Cliff because she noticed black stains on Anayeli's teeth.
But they are not stains. They're cavities, says Dr. April Jack. Because the child was examined without X-rays, Dr. Jack is only guessing that there are eight cavities. There could be more.
Dr. Jack calls it a classic case of bottle syndrome, the result of putting a baby to bed with a bottle filled with juice or milk. Doctors warn parents against this practice because the sugary liquid pools in the child's mouth all night, causing decay.
Ms. Alvarado says that sometimes Anayeli cries and points to her mouth. She thought it was because she was getting new teeth. Dr. Jack is shaking her head. The toddler has all 20 of her primary teeth, the dentist says. It's more likely that one of Anayeli's decayed teeth caused the pain.
Ms. Alvarado hopes that Dr. Jack can fix Anayeli's teeth. She hopes that most of the work will be done free. At night, Ms. Alvarado works part time cleaning offices. She has no health insurance and no money for dental care. Anayeli wasn't born in the U.S. and doesn't qualify for other help. That is why Ms. Alvarado has come to the clinic, she says through an interpreter, speaking in her native Spanish.
But Dr. Jack has to say no. The little girl with the saucer-shaped brown eyes and wispy pigtails is too young for her to treat. To restore so many decayed teeth, Dr. Jack would need to sedate Anayeli. The clinic is not able to sedate a child so young. Anayeli must at least be 3. She isn't quite 2.
The interpreter goes over a sheet of paper filled with referrals to other places that could sedate her. All would charge more than the clinic, which is a partnership between Parkland Memorial Hospital and the nonprofit Community Dental Care organization.
"If necessary, I'll take her to those places," Ms. Alvarado says. "But I don't know how I will pay for this."
Dr. Jack has a pretty good idea what might happen next. She has seen a lot of children like Anayeli. Dr. Jack expects Ms. Alvarado will not take her daughter to any of those places. She can't afford it.
Anayeli will end up in an emergency room. Another referral will be made to another dentist. Ms. Alvarado will be right back where she started – unable to afford treatment.
Ms. Alvarado gathers up Anayeli. Her soft smile has faded. She tries to pry out of her daughter's hand a small stuffed toy Dr. Jack has given Anayeli. Dr. Jack stops her. The toy is for Anayeli to keep. It isn't easy sending a child away who needs dental care with nothing but a stuffed animal to hold. But there really isn't anything else Dr. Jack can do.
"Most of us are mothers here. We care for children," she says. "It bothers us."
TREATING AND TEACHING
For a working mom, 'Dental care is so expensive' Dr. Pat Harris sits on a stool pulled close to 8-year-old Quetzalcoatl Jaimes in a dental chair. Dr. Harris plans to pull out what is left of a once-throbbing tooth.
The tooth has decayed so much that it has broken, leaving behind two nubs sticking up from the boy's gum.
Delma Hernandez, 27, the boy's mother and a lab technician, no longer qualified for Medicaid coverage when she took a job.
"He hasn't been to the dentist since. It's the same thing with my little girl. Dental care is so expensive," Ms. Hernandez says.
While on Medicaid, she says, she took her children to the dentist and paid $5 per visit. Now she is more focused on paying housing costs, buying groceries and taking care of Quetzy and his 5-year-old sister, Delmarosio Rodriguez.
She can afford to see Dr. Harris at Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in West Dallas, a sunny place filled with children's artwork from a nearby elementary school. On average, visits cost her about $20. Parents pay on a sliding scale based on their income, thanks to several grants to the health center. About 15 percent of the patients have Medicaid. A few have some other insurance. The rest are like Ms. Hernandez – uninsured and in low-paying jobs that often make dental care last on their to-do lists.
Dr. Harris treats children ages 4 to 17. The clinic serves mostly Hispanic neighborhoods in three ZIP codes. His gentle manner helps keep young, nervous patients calm. "We're helping kids," Dr. Harris says. "But the thing is, we're constantly treating kids who have never had care. I think it's getting worse."
In 2004, Dr. Harris and his staff treated 1,450 low-income children and performed 4,000 treatments. He rarely sees more than 14 patients a day, a number lower than most dentists in private practice. Here, children need restorative work that takes time. The clinic's dental hygienist also teaches newcomers to brush and floss and not to eat too much candy.
It has taken Ms. Hernandez several appointments to actually bring Quetzy. The first time she made an appointment, she broke it because Quetzy had to take the TAKS test at school. She made another appointment in the summer and then rescheduled.
By the time Quetzy came at the start of the school year, he needed three teeth pulled and five fillings. Delmarosio shows signs of needing treatment, too.
"She has a little black spot between her front teeth," Ms. Hernandez says.
Now when she schedules an appointment, Ms. Hernandez says, she fiercely guards the time.
With the area around Quetzy's tooth now numb, Dr. Harris quickly extracts the broken tooth. Quetzy is ready to go home and enjoy a quiet afternoon with his mother. What he has learned at the dentist's office has sunk in, his mother says.
One night, as Quetzy prepared to drink a soft drink before bed, his mother repeated what they learned.
"If you drink that Coke and don't brush, what does that sugar do all night?" Ms. Hernandez says she asked him. Both mother and son know the answer. The sugar will cause cavities. Quetzy chose water and then brushed his teeth.
"I think he understands now," Ms. Hernandez says.
TAKING ACTION AT SCHOOL
'This isn't going to hurt at all': 2nd-graders treated to sealant Mark Martinsen is the warm-up act for a half-dozen James Bowie Elementary School second-graders.
As the students walked into the Dallas portable classroom, their eyes widened at the sight of the two huge dental chairs and the four Baylor College of Dentistry students standing at the ready in their hospital scrubs. Behind the chairs are several long tables covered with some suspicious-looking supplies – rubber gloves, cotton rolls and implements.
The dental students, Mr. Martinsen and their supervising professor, Dr. Stephen Crane, are part of the dental college's sealant program. Each year a platoon of dental students fans out to 25 schools across the Dallas Independent School District to try to stop decay before it starts.
The dental students screen about 80 children each week. They brush on cavity-preventing fluoride and probe for signs of trouble. If they can, they place a protective plastic coating or sealant on newly emerged molars to thwart cavities. The service is free, part of a partnership between Baylor and DISD.
Dr. Crane says they chose second grade because "second-graders are old enough for us to seal the molars because they have erupted and yet young enough for us to catch them before they have any decay."
When decay is found, parents are alerted, and school nurses are asked to make sure that parents follow through, Dr. Crane says.
Mr. Martinsen, a volunteer, starts his spiel. He will repeat it to each new group.
"We're going to put sealants on your teeth today. But before we do that, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he says. "This isn't going to hurt at all."
The children look at him warily. Mr. Martinsen is holding up a slim, silver instrument. It looks like a needle. It's not. It contains a substance that Mr. Martinsen calls "blue shampoo" that prepares the tooth for the sealant.
When the children are done, they are rewarded. Each gets a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste and a sticker – Hot Wheels for the boys and Barbie for the girls.
One little girl bursts into infectious giggles throughout her exam. Another has a gag reflex and vomits her lunch into a trash can.
Now Luis Alonso won't lie back in the chair. He sits upright, his mouth closed.
Daniel Caraveo, a fourth-year dental student, tries to persuade Luis. But the boy stares straight ahead.
Dr. Crane watches. The other children watch, too.
Dr. Crane calls out from across the room: "I don't want to be mean, but since he won't cooperate, I don't think he should get the goodies."
Maybe Luis wants a sticker. Maybe Mr. Caraveo's persistence is paying off. Luis hops down from the chair. Suddenly he is standing with his mouth wide open while Mr. Caraveo uses a small brush to coat his teeth with fluoride.
Luis clutches his pockets. He takes a step back. Mr. Caraveo takes a step forward. For a few moments they perform an awkward waltz. It's over. Luis spits the leftover fluoride into the trashcan. He has earned his Hot Wheels sticker and toothbrush.
Luis swoops up his rewards and heads out.
Working poor find costs, Medicaid restrictions hurting dental care
By KAREN M. THOMAS / The Dallas Morning News
Last spring, Delma Hernandez's son told her his teeth hurt. The single mother of two rubbed Orajel on them. She gave him Tylenol. Then she apologized.
"I'm sorry your teeth hurt," she told her 8-year-old. "But Mommy can't afford to take you to the dentist."
Ms. Hernandez and thousands of low-income parents like her cannot find affordable dental care.
At stake are young lives that can be permanently altered by dental disease. It could be easily prevented, experts say. But in Dallas recently:
•A toddler with a mouthful of cavities went untreated because a community clinic was not equipped to sedate her and her mother couldn't afford to take her elsewhere.
•A 9-year-old with nine cavities planned nine visits to a low-cost clinic, because even there her parents could afford to treat only one tooth at a time.
•An 8-year-old, who lost Medicaid coverage when his mother began work, returned to the dentist when he complained of pain and needed five fillings and three teeth removed.
Children with untreated cavities and dental infections experience chronic low-grade pain, occasionally replaced by high-grade pain. Children with chronic pain are inattentive, less likely to sleep soundly or eat fully and unable to learn well.
Clinic directors and children's dental health advocates say dental problems are the leading cause of school absenteeism among low-income children.
The more severe the childhood decay, the more likely that their suffering will continue into adulthood. Heart disease and other health conditions have been linked to dental infections, they say. And it could even push families further into poverty since many low-income workers land in service-industry jobs in which appearance matters and missing teeth may keep them from being hired.
The state's Children's Health Insurance Program cut dental benefits in 2003. Even though legislation to restore them was passed last spring, coverage still hasn't been made available. Other children are left hunting for pediatric dentists who take Medicaid. Many struggle against cultural, financial and educational barriers to proper care.
The lack of access to dental care is contributing to the chasm between poor children and their wealthier counterparts. While most children nationwide now have access to fluoride, sealants and other advances that protect their teeth, the poorest children still lack access, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poor kids nationwide represent 25 percent of all children and experience 80 percent of the decay, according to the Children's Dental Health Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.
"They have become, essentially, invisible," says Dr. Burton Edelstein, a professor of clinical dentistry at Columbia University in New York and founding director of the project. "There is a significant gap."
According to the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, nearly 152,000 medically uninsured children live in Dallas County. A report on oral health issued by the U.S. surgeon general estimates that for every medically uninsured child, 2.6 lack dental coverage. That means there could be more than 395,000 dentally uninsured children in Dallas County.
For some poor families, life is prioritized to the point where dentistry is at the bottom.
"It's true that sometimes low-income parents are less motivated to bring their children to the dentist. But they have other issues they are dealing with. You have to understand that," says Paul Hoffmann, executive director of Community Dental Care, a nonprofit organization that runs nine Dallas-area clinics. The organization says it's the largest nonprofit provider of routine and preventive care and dental health education in Texas. In 2005, the organization treated more than 12,000 children, Mr. Hoffmann said.
Even families that qualify for Medicaid and are guaranteed dental benefits for their children have a hard time finding care. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2.26 million Texas children are on Medicaid, and about half, 1.16 million, received dental care in 2005.
Part of the problem is that not many pediatric dentists accept Medicaid patients. Many that do limit them to a small percentage of their practice. Dentists cite cumbersome paperwork and low reimbursement rates.
Dr. Robert Morgan, a pediatric dentist with a thriving practice in Irving and Richardson, says dental students are advised to steer away from Medicaid patients because it isn't financially feasible. It's advice he says he never bought.
"There are those of us that walk into this with our eyes open. I will not make money," he says about the care he gives his Medicaid patients, which represent 20 percent of his practice. "In fact, I will reach into my pocket.
"But I will do this because ethically and morally as a health care provider, this is what God expects us to do for our children," he says.
Dr. Morgan says that he welcomes the coming restoration of CHIP dental benefits. The state legislation restored the benefit and others last spring. But negotiations with a dental provider have dragged on, and state officials now say children won't receive CHIP dental care until at least April 1.
But CHIP will not solve the larger problem for many low-income children, Dr. Morgan says. Many need expensive work beyond basic care, including root canals and other procedures.
"It's a great program, but the problem is this: It has a $400 maximum. For the more complicated cases – those who need, say, $2,000 to $3,000 worth of work – their parents are supposed to make up the difference. What are you supposed to do when they can't?" he says.
Finding private-practice dentists such as Dr. Morgan is hard. Many private dentists who take Medicaid have waiting lists as long as nine months, he says.
The wait and lack of access lead straight to the emergency room, where physicians can treat only pain and infection, not the cause.
Meanwhile, clinics such as the ones run by Community Dental Care have become the safety net for the low-income, uninsured and underinsured. Children lucky enough to find such care pay far below market rates, thanks to grants and partnerships.
"We have to see these children," says Mr. Hoffmann. "Who else will see them?"
Here are three stories of those struggling to keep children healthy.
A CYCLE OF PAIN
She's too young to treat without costlier care Ana Alvarado holds her toddler on her lap. She has come to the DeHaro-Saldivar Community Outreach Patient Care Dental Clinic in Oak Cliff because she noticed black stains on Anayeli's teeth.
But they are not stains. They're cavities, says Dr. April Jack. Because the child was examined without X-rays, Dr. Jack is only guessing that there are eight cavities. There could be more.
Dr. Jack calls it a classic case of bottle syndrome, the result of putting a baby to bed with a bottle filled with juice or milk. Doctors warn parents against this practice because the sugary liquid pools in the child's mouth all night, causing decay.
Ms. Alvarado says that sometimes Anayeli cries and points to her mouth. She thought it was because she was getting new teeth. Dr. Jack is shaking her head. The toddler has all 20 of her primary teeth, the dentist says. It's more likely that one of Anayeli's decayed teeth caused the pain.
Ms. Alvarado hopes that Dr. Jack can fix Anayeli's teeth. She hopes that most of the work will be done free. At night, Ms. Alvarado works part time cleaning offices. She has no health insurance and no money for dental care. Anayeli wasn't born in the U.S. and doesn't qualify for other help. That is why Ms. Alvarado has come to the clinic, she says through an interpreter, speaking in her native Spanish.
But Dr. Jack has to say no. The little girl with the saucer-shaped brown eyes and wispy pigtails is too young for her to treat. To restore so many decayed teeth, Dr. Jack would need to sedate Anayeli. The clinic is not able to sedate a child so young. Anayeli must at least be 3. She isn't quite 2.
The interpreter goes over a sheet of paper filled with referrals to other places that could sedate her. All would charge more than the clinic, which is a partnership between Parkland Memorial Hospital and the nonprofit Community Dental Care organization.
"If necessary, I'll take her to those places," Ms. Alvarado says. "But I don't know how I will pay for this."
Dr. Jack has a pretty good idea what might happen next. She has seen a lot of children like Anayeli. Dr. Jack expects Ms. Alvarado will not take her daughter to any of those places. She can't afford it.
Anayeli will end up in an emergency room. Another referral will be made to another dentist. Ms. Alvarado will be right back where she started – unable to afford treatment.
Ms. Alvarado gathers up Anayeli. Her soft smile has faded. She tries to pry out of her daughter's hand a small stuffed toy Dr. Jack has given Anayeli. Dr. Jack stops her. The toy is for Anayeli to keep. It isn't easy sending a child away who needs dental care with nothing but a stuffed animal to hold. But there really isn't anything else Dr. Jack can do.
"Most of us are mothers here. We care for children," she says. "It bothers us."
TREATING AND TEACHING
For a working mom, 'Dental care is so expensive' Dr. Pat Harris sits on a stool pulled close to 8-year-old Quetzalcoatl Jaimes in a dental chair. Dr. Harris plans to pull out what is left of a once-throbbing tooth.
The tooth has decayed so much that it has broken, leaving behind two nubs sticking up from the boy's gum.
Delma Hernandez, 27, the boy's mother and a lab technician, no longer qualified for Medicaid coverage when she took a job.
"He hasn't been to the dentist since. It's the same thing with my little girl. Dental care is so expensive," Ms. Hernandez says.
While on Medicaid, she says, she took her children to the dentist and paid $5 per visit. Now she is more focused on paying housing costs, buying groceries and taking care of Quetzy and his 5-year-old sister, Delmarosio Rodriguez.
She can afford to see Dr. Harris at Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in West Dallas, a sunny place filled with children's artwork from a nearby elementary school. On average, visits cost her about $20. Parents pay on a sliding scale based on their income, thanks to several grants to the health center. About 15 percent of the patients have Medicaid. A few have some other insurance. The rest are like Ms. Hernandez – uninsured and in low-paying jobs that often make dental care last on their to-do lists.
Dr. Harris treats children ages 4 to 17. The clinic serves mostly Hispanic neighborhoods in three ZIP codes. His gentle manner helps keep young, nervous patients calm. "We're helping kids," Dr. Harris says. "But the thing is, we're constantly treating kids who have never had care. I think it's getting worse."
In 2004, Dr. Harris and his staff treated 1,450 low-income children and performed 4,000 treatments. He rarely sees more than 14 patients a day, a number lower than most dentists in private practice. Here, children need restorative work that takes time. The clinic's dental hygienist also teaches newcomers to brush and floss and not to eat too much candy.
It has taken Ms. Hernandez several appointments to actually bring Quetzy. The first time she made an appointment, she broke it because Quetzy had to take the TAKS test at school. She made another appointment in the summer and then rescheduled.
By the time Quetzy came at the start of the school year, he needed three teeth pulled and five fillings. Delmarosio shows signs of needing treatment, too.
"She has a little black spot between her front teeth," Ms. Hernandez says.
Now when she schedules an appointment, Ms. Hernandez says, she fiercely guards the time.
With the area around Quetzy's tooth now numb, Dr. Harris quickly extracts the broken tooth. Quetzy is ready to go home and enjoy a quiet afternoon with his mother. What he has learned at the dentist's office has sunk in, his mother says.
One night, as Quetzy prepared to drink a soft drink before bed, his mother repeated what they learned.
"If you drink that Coke and don't brush, what does that sugar do all night?" Ms. Hernandez says she asked him. Both mother and son know the answer. The sugar will cause cavities. Quetzy chose water and then brushed his teeth.
"I think he understands now," Ms. Hernandez says.
TAKING ACTION AT SCHOOL
'This isn't going to hurt at all': 2nd-graders treated to sealant Mark Martinsen is the warm-up act for a half-dozen James Bowie Elementary School second-graders.
As the students walked into the Dallas portable classroom, their eyes widened at the sight of the two huge dental chairs and the four Baylor College of Dentistry students standing at the ready in their hospital scrubs. Behind the chairs are several long tables covered with some suspicious-looking supplies – rubber gloves, cotton rolls and implements.
The dental students, Mr. Martinsen and their supervising professor, Dr. Stephen Crane, are part of the dental college's sealant program. Each year a platoon of dental students fans out to 25 schools across the Dallas Independent School District to try to stop decay before it starts.
The dental students screen about 80 children each week. They brush on cavity-preventing fluoride and probe for signs of trouble. If they can, they place a protective plastic coating or sealant on newly emerged molars to thwart cavities. The service is free, part of a partnership between Baylor and DISD.
Dr. Crane says they chose second grade because "second-graders are old enough for us to seal the molars because they have erupted and yet young enough for us to catch them before they have any decay."
When decay is found, parents are alerted, and school nurses are asked to make sure that parents follow through, Dr. Crane says.
Mr. Martinsen, a volunteer, starts his spiel. He will repeat it to each new group.
"We're going to put sealants on your teeth today. But before we do that, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he says. "This isn't going to hurt at all."
The children look at him warily. Mr. Martinsen is holding up a slim, silver instrument. It looks like a needle. It's not. It contains a substance that Mr. Martinsen calls "blue shampoo" that prepares the tooth for the sealant.
When the children are done, they are rewarded. Each gets a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste and a sticker – Hot Wheels for the boys and Barbie for the girls.
One little girl bursts into infectious giggles throughout her exam. Another has a gag reflex and vomits her lunch into a trash can.
Now Luis Alonso won't lie back in the chair. He sits upright, his mouth closed.
Daniel Caraveo, a fourth-year dental student, tries to persuade Luis. But the boy stares straight ahead.
Dr. Crane watches. The other children watch, too.
Dr. Crane calls out from across the room: "I don't want to be mean, but since he won't cooperate, I don't think he should get the goodies."
Maybe Luis wants a sticker. Maybe Mr. Caraveo's persistence is paying off. Luis hops down from the chair. Suddenly he is standing with his mouth wide open while Mr. Caraveo uses a small brush to coat his teeth with fluoride.
Luis clutches his pockets. He takes a step back. Mr. Caraveo takes a step forward. For a few moments they perform an awkward waltz. It's over. Luis spits the leftover fluoride into the trashcan. He has earned his Hot Wheels sticker and toothbrush.
Luis swoops up his rewards and heads out.
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TexasStooge
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Sex offender may get life for phone call
Ex-convict broke rules, prosecutors say; critics call penalty too harsh
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
GARLAND, Texas - Angry about the way an ex-girlfriend used his car and parked it without locking the doors, Gerome Alexander left a brief message on her telephone answering machine: "I'm going to catch you, and you're going to get yours."
That one call could send Mr. Alexander to prison for the rest of his life.
The 35-year-old Garland man is one of 59 convicted sex offenders in Texas who were released from prison and placed under civil commitment after being deemed sexually violent predators.
They live under a strict code of conduct that typically requires them to remain under close supervision, undergo therapy and be regularly subjected to polygraph tests and behavioral exams until it's determined that they are no longer a threat. The civil statute differs from criminal charges in that it has no set time frame.
Mr. Alexander was committed in 2001 after he completed a two-year prison sentence for exposing himself to a child. It was his third sex offense.
Prosecutors charge that the phone message he left in late 2004 was a violation of the rules he agreed to live under. If a jury agrees in his trial, which starts Tuesday, Mr. Alexander faces 25 years to life in prison.
His case marks the first time in Texas that prosecutors will ask a jury to send a civilly committed sex offender back to prison.
Mr. Alexander declined an interview request. His attorney, public defender Mary Jo Earle, has filed a constitutional challenge to the case, saying the long prison sentence her client faces amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment" for one phone call.
"It's going to be shameful for our society that you commit these people forever and then kind of forget about them," Ms. Earle said.
Prosecutors declined to comment in detail about the case before trial, but they say Mr. Alexander has demonstrated that he's dangerous and should face whatever punishment the law allows.
He has already had four stints in Texas prisons. Of his five felony convictions, three involved sex offenses against girls in their early teens, and another stemmed from his failure to register with authorities as a sex offender.
"The law isn't just penalizing the offender, it's protecting others," said Rachel Horton, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney's office. "As long as it's protecting other people and not solely punitive, it's not going to be unconstitutional."
According to court records, the angry phone call is just one of several civil commitment violations by Mr. Alexander. His relationship with his girlfriend was a violation because his caseworker was not informed of it and because the woman is on parole.
Mr. Alexander was also forbidden to have access to a car. Also, under polygraph analysis, he admitted that he had consumed alcohol and had viewed pornography, court records say.
Phone message
Mr. Alexander's trial will focus solely on the phone call. Ms. Earle said the charge – for violating civil commitment rules – is designed to carry punishment of two to 10 years in prison. But Dallas County prosecutors have upgraded the punishment range to a minimum of 25 years because Mr. Alexander already has been to prison for sex crimes and can be classified as a habitual criminal.
"The reality is a lot of these infractions are relatively minor," Ms. Earle said. "He left a nasty phone message on someone's voice mail. To him, it seems pretty unreasonable that he would go to the penitentiary for life."
Ms. Earle said an appeal is likely if her legal challenges of the statute are denied and Mr. Alexander is found guilty by a jury.
"There will be a lot of appellate issues in this case," she said.
Dallas County prosecutors recently resolved a similar case involving a 41-year-old Dallas sex offender who was accused of violating his civil commitment terms by possessing and viewing pornography.
That man also could have faced a prison sentence of at least 25 years, but in a plea bargain reached Thursday, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that amounted to a Class C misdemeanor.
Prosecutors said they offered the lesser charge because the man's caseworkers said he was progressing in his treatment.
Criticism of law
David O'Neil, a Huntsville attorney who has handled several civil commitment cases, said he believes the civil commitment system is designed to assure that those living under the rules fail and return to prison.
While Mr. Alexander's case may be the first to go before a jury, Mr. O'Neil said, he expects many more: As more and more sex offenders are subjected to civil commitment, more and more will trip up on the strict rules.
"I believe the intent of the statutes is to put all these people back in prison," Mr. O'Neil said. "If you look at those conditions, you can see where they're really going, and the intent is to get as many of these people back in prison as possible."
Ex-convict broke rules, prosecutors say; critics call penalty too harsh
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
GARLAND, Texas - Angry about the way an ex-girlfriend used his car and parked it without locking the doors, Gerome Alexander left a brief message on her telephone answering machine: "I'm going to catch you, and you're going to get yours."
That one call could send Mr. Alexander to prison for the rest of his life.
The 35-year-old Garland man is one of 59 convicted sex offenders in Texas who were released from prison and placed under civil commitment after being deemed sexually violent predators.
They live under a strict code of conduct that typically requires them to remain under close supervision, undergo therapy and be regularly subjected to polygraph tests and behavioral exams until it's determined that they are no longer a threat. The civil statute differs from criminal charges in that it has no set time frame.
Mr. Alexander was committed in 2001 after he completed a two-year prison sentence for exposing himself to a child. It was his third sex offense.
Prosecutors charge that the phone message he left in late 2004 was a violation of the rules he agreed to live under. If a jury agrees in his trial, which starts Tuesday, Mr. Alexander faces 25 years to life in prison.
His case marks the first time in Texas that prosecutors will ask a jury to send a civilly committed sex offender back to prison.
Mr. Alexander declined an interview request. His attorney, public defender Mary Jo Earle, has filed a constitutional challenge to the case, saying the long prison sentence her client faces amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment" for one phone call.
"It's going to be shameful for our society that you commit these people forever and then kind of forget about them," Ms. Earle said.
Prosecutors declined to comment in detail about the case before trial, but they say Mr. Alexander has demonstrated that he's dangerous and should face whatever punishment the law allows.
He has already had four stints in Texas prisons. Of his five felony convictions, three involved sex offenses against girls in their early teens, and another stemmed from his failure to register with authorities as a sex offender.
"The law isn't just penalizing the offender, it's protecting others," said Rachel Horton, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney's office. "As long as it's protecting other people and not solely punitive, it's not going to be unconstitutional."
According to court records, the angry phone call is just one of several civil commitment violations by Mr. Alexander. His relationship with his girlfriend was a violation because his caseworker was not informed of it and because the woman is on parole.
Mr. Alexander was also forbidden to have access to a car. Also, under polygraph analysis, he admitted that he had consumed alcohol and had viewed pornography, court records say.
Phone message
Mr. Alexander's trial will focus solely on the phone call. Ms. Earle said the charge – for violating civil commitment rules – is designed to carry punishment of two to 10 years in prison. But Dallas County prosecutors have upgraded the punishment range to a minimum of 25 years because Mr. Alexander already has been to prison for sex crimes and can be classified as a habitual criminal.
"The reality is a lot of these infractions are relatively minor," Ms. Earle said. "He left a nasty phone message on someone's voice mail. To him, it seems pretty unreasonable that he would go to the penitentiary for life."
Ms. Earle said an appeal is likely if her legal challenges of the statute are denied and Mr. Alexander is found guilty by a jury.
"There will be a lot of appellate issues in this case," she said.
Dallas County prosecutors recently resolved a similar case involving a 41-year-old Dallas sex offender who was accused of violating his civil commitment terms by possessing and viewing pornography.
That man also could have faced a prison sentence of at least 25 years, but in a plea bargain reached Thursday, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that amounted to a Class C misdemeanor.
Prosecutors said they offered the lesser charge because the man's caseworkers said he was progressing in his treatment.
Criticism of law
David O'Neil, a Huntsville attorney who has handled several civil commitment cases, said he believes the civil commitment system is designed to assure that those living under the rules fail and return to prison.
While Mr. Alexander's case may be the first to go before a jury, Mr. O'Neil said, he expects many more: As more and more sex offenders are subjected to civil commitment, more and more will trip up on the strict rules.
"I believe the intent of the statutes is to put all these people back in prison," Mr. O'Neil said. "If you look at those conditions, you can see where they're really going, and the intent is to get as many of these people back in prison as possible."
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Woman stabbed at Denton County Wal-Mart
DENTON, Texas (Denton Record-Chronicle) - A 30-year-old woman was stabbed as she tried to stop a man from taking her Dodge Durango in the parking lot of the Hickory Creek Wal-Mart Friday.
Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, said the woman was leaving the store’s garden center shortly before 1 p.m. when she saw the man trying to steal her gray Dodge Durango, and she tried to stop him. He then stabbed her in the leg and abdomen and took the SUV, Reedy said.
The woman was airlifted to a Dallas hospital. Hickory Creek police are looking for the man and for the woman's stolen car.
lets hope they catch the evil doer
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TexasStooge
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Fighting roosters sent to McKinney after bust
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - More than 300 roosters and hens were sent from San Antonio to an SPCA shelter in McKinney after three suspects were arrested for alleged cockfighting in what authorities said may be the largest bust of its kind.
"The birds that we have are fighting roosters," said Ann Barnes, SPCA of Texas. "They've been born, bred and trained to fight."
Bexar County sheriff's deputies busted the suspects and shipped off 368 birds in two trailers and tethered the male birds to restrain them from fighting.
Authorites said the animals are under armed guard because the SPCA has had cases in the past where they have been stolen because of their value in cockfighting. One cockfighting bird is said to be worth $10,000.
The sheriff's department confiscated the birds during a cockfight in South San Antonio where they said up to 300 watched as the roosters attempt to kill each other.
"It is torture," Barnes said. "If you think about it, razor sharp knives cut into their breasts taking wings off."
Authorities also seized blades said to be involved in the cockfights and five dead roosters.
The SPCA has begun treatment for the wounded birds and it will be up to a judge to decide whether to euthanize the roosters.
"Unfortunately, there is a cock fight in every county, everyday in this state," Barnes said.
Authorities said an auction of the birds is unlikely since the fighting instinct never goes away.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
MCKINNEY, Texas - More than 300 roosters and hens were sent from San Antonio to an SPCA shelter in McKinney after three suspects were arrested for alleged cockfighting in what authorities said may be the largest bust of its kind.
"The birds that we have are fighting roosters," said Ann Barnes, SPCA of Texas. "They've been born, bred and trained to fight."
Bexar County sheriff's deputies busted the suspects and shipped off 368 birds in two trailers and tethered the male birds to restrain them from fighting.
Authorites said the animals are under armed guard because the SPCA has had cases in the past where they have been stolen because of their value in cockfighting. One cockfighting bird is said to be worth $10,000.
The sheriff's department confiscated the birds during a cockfight in South San Antonio where they said up to 300 watched as the roosters attempt to kill each other.
"It is torture," Barnes said. "If you think about it, razor sharp knives cut into their breasts taking wings off."
Authorities also seized blades said to be involved in the cockfights and five dead roosters.
The SPCA has begun treatment for the wounded birds and it will be up to a judge to decide whether to euthanize the roosters.
"Unfortunately, there is a cock fight in every county, everyday in this state," Barnes said.
Authorities said an auction of the birds is unlikely since the fighting instinct never goes away.
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
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Unjustified jailing renews system criticism
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Henry Daughtry's undeserved night in jail after he was arrested on an outstanding warrant has renewed questions about the Dallas County Jail computer system.
Daughtry said he was minding his own business, Dallas police said he was walking in the street and aroused suspicion when he was confronted and arrested Tuesday night.
Police said a check on Daughtry revealed an outstanding warrant for driving without a license.
"...After they arrest me, I'm still asking them why am I am being arrested and they say, 'You will find out later,'" Daughtry said.
However, Daughtry should not have gone to jail because he had already served time to satisfy the warrant.
"And I told them that last night, that they could pull it up on the computer and they told me that they would not," he said.
Some Dallas authorities have stepped up and admitted Daughtry's arrest was a mistake.
"As far as I'm concerned, we screwed up," said John Wiley Price, Dallas county commissioner.
However, Daughtry's arrest was just one among many mistakes with the jail's computer system installed nearly a year ago.
"We think the system is 90-something percent, but we can't even afford that one percent because we're talking about live here," Price said.
Recently, Dallas County Jail released a man who spent 15 months behind bars on charges that should have brought only five days.
In this case, Price said the error was caused by human input rather than software glitches.
However, Daughtry said he doesn't care why it happened and said he worries it could happen again.
"You can't walk down the street without them terrorizing you, for what?" he said. "I haven't done anything."
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Henry Daughtry's undeserved night in jail after he was arrested on an outstanding warrant has renewed questions about the Dallas County Jail computer system.
Daughtry said he was minding his own business, Dallas police said he was walking in the street and aroused suspicion when he was confronted and arrested Tuesday night.
Police said a check on Daughtry revealed an outstanding warrant for driving without a license.
"...After they arrest me, I'm still asking them why am I am being arrested and they say, 'You will find out later,'" Daughtry said.
However, Daughtry should not have gone to jail because he had already served time to satisfy the warrant.
"And I told them that last night, that they could pull it up on the computer and they told me that they would not," he said.
Some Dallas authorities have stepped up and admitted Daughtry's arrest was a mistake.
"As far as I'm concerned, we screwed up," said John Wiley Price, Dallas county commissioner.
However, Daughtry's arrest was just one among many mistakes with the jail's computer system installed nearly a year ago.
"We think the system is 90-something percent, but we can't even afford that one percent because we're talking about live here," Price said.
Recently, Dallas County Jail released a man who spent 15 months behind bars on charges that should have brought only five days.
In this case, Price said the error was caused by human input rather than software glitches.
However, Daughtry said he doesn't care why it happened and said he worries it could happen again.
"You can't walk down the street without them terrorizing you, for what?" he said. "I haven't done anything."
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TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
A true hero accepts her title
Dallas: Caregiver receives award 2 years after saving man from burning home
By JON NIELSEN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Elnora Denmark tried to forget her life's scariest moment – rescuing an elderly man from his burning home after a plane crashed into it two years ago. For months after she carried L.S. Thompson Jr., a retired surgeon, from his house, she received letters from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission asking her for information they needed to recognize her for her actions.
She threw them away.
"I didn't want to remember that anymore," she said. "It was bad."
But the 53-year-old reluctant heroine finally relented and sent in the paperwork. She recently received the Carnegie Medal and $3,500 in honor of her heroism.
About 10 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2004, Mrs. Denmark was working as Mr. Thompson's caretaker at his North Dallas home when a small plane crashed into his garage and set the house on fire. The force from the blast knocked Mrs. Denmark to the floor, and thick, black smoke filled the home.
Bystanders stood at the door to the home yelling at Mrs. Denmark to get out of the house.
But Mrs. Denmark navigated through the darkness, wrapped Dr. Thompson in a blanket and carried him to safety.
She remembers one woman's reaction.
"That gal was saying, 'Lady, you've got to be crazy,' " Mrs. Denmark said. She added, "There was no way I'd leave him behind and save my life. I wouldn't have done that for nothing in the world."
The crash and ensuing four-alarm fire caused more than $1.1 million in damage to two homes and Mrs. Denmark's red Cadillac. Her dachshund, Martini, and Dr. Thompson's Shih Tzu, Maggie, died in the fire.
A deeply religious person, Mrs. Denmark still has a charred Bible that survived the fire. She says it was a sign from the Lord.
"I think I'm a hero, but I have to thank my heavenly Father first," she said.
In the weeks after the rescue, strangers on the street walked up to Mrs. Denmark, recognizing her from television footage of the event, and embraced her.
"One lady walked up and told me, 'I want to hug your neck. You're a hero.'"
Mrs. Denmark declined an invitation to be on The Oprah Winfrey Show because she doesn't like airplanes.
Today, she continues to care for the elderly in Dallas. She says it gives her satisfaction knowing she can help someone. After all, she says, she may need help some day.
"My grandmother always taught me do the best you can and never say what you can't do. I never will forget that in life. She would always teach me to respect your elders, do what you can do for them because one day you'll be in the same shape they're in."
Dr. Thompson died in February 2004 from complications from strokes. His family says Mrs. Denmark is well-deserving of the Carnegie Medal, which the commission awards five times a year to individuals who risk their lives while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
"I think it's a wonderful recognition for a true hero," said Dr. Thompson's son, Sanders Thompson of Dallas. "I'm just happy for her, proud of her and proud to know her. She's a valuable person to have in your life, and I'm happy to have her there."
On Jan. 7, the $3,500 check arrived. The medal is expected to arrive soon
She deposited the check in the bank last week after making a copy to frame and hang on her wall. .
She says she'll use part of the money to send to a charity that feeds hungry children. The rest, "I think I need to let that sit there and add onto it."
Dallas: Caregiver receives award 2 years after saving man from burning home
By JON NIELSEN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Elnora Denmark tried to forget her life's scariest moment – rescuing an elderly man from his burning home after a plane crashed into it two years ago. For months after she carried L.S. Thompson Jr., a retired surgeon, from his house, she received letters from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission asking her for information they needed to recognize her for her actions.
She threw them away.
"I didn't want to remember that anymore," she said. "It was bad."
But the 53-year-old reluctant heroine finally relented and sent in the paperwork. She recently received the Carnegie Medal and $3,500 in honor of her heroism.
About 10 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2004, Mrs. Denmark was working as Mr. Thompson's caretaker at his North Dallas home when a small plane crashed into his garage and set the house on fire. The force from the blast knocked Mrs. Denmark to the floor, and thick, black smoke filled the home.
Bystanders stood at the door to the home yelling at Mrs. Denmark to get out of the house.
But Mrs. Denmark navigated through the darkness, wrapped Dr. Thompson in a blanket and carried him to safety.
She remembers one woman's reaction.
"That gal was saying, 'Lady, you've got to be crazy,' " Mrs. Denmark said. She added, "There was no way I'd leave him behind and save my life. I wouldn't have done that for nothing in the world."
The crash and ensuing four-alarm fire caused more than $1.1 million in damage to two homes and Mrs. Denmark's red Cadillac. Her dachshund, Martini, and Dr. Thompson's Shih Tzu, Maggie, died in the fire.
A deeply religious person, Mrs. Denmark still has a charred Bible that survived the fire. She says it was a sign from the Lord.
"I think I'm a hero, but I have to thank my heavenly Father first," she said.
In the weeks after the rescue, strangers on the street walked up to Mrs. Denmark, recognizing her from television footage of the event, and embraced her.
"One lady walked up and told me, 'I want to hug your neck. You're a hero.'"
Mrs. Denmark declined an invitation to be on The Oprah Winfrey Show because she doesn't like airplanes.
Today, she continues to care for the elderly in Dallas. She says it gives her satisfaction knowing she can help someone. After all, she says, she may need help some day.
"My grandmother always taught me do the best you can and never say what you can't do. I never will forget that in life. She would always teach me to respect your elders, do what you can do for them because one day you'll be in the same shape they're in."
Dr. Thompson died in February 2004 from complications from strokes. His family says Mrs. Denmark is well-deserving of the Carnegie Medal, which the commission awards five times a year to individuals who risk their lives while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
"I think it's a wonderful recognition for a true hero," said Dr. Thompson's son, Sanders Thompson of Dallas. "I'm just happy for her, proud of her and proud to know her. She's a valuable person to have in your life, and I'm happy to have her there."
On Jan. 7, the $3,500 check arrived. The medal is expected to arrive soon
She deposited the check in the bank last week after making a copy to frame and hang on her wall. .
She says she'll use part of the money to send to a charity that feeds hungry children. The rest, "I think I need to let that sit there and add onto it."
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Irving explosion 'injures three'
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three people have been injured in an explosion in Irving, according to fire officials.
The explosion took place just after 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning at the 600 Block of Beltline at Sherwood Village Mobile Home Park.
A crew working on a sewer line encountered gasoline fumes which caused a flash fire.
Co-workers say their colleagues' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
Investigators are on their way to the scene of the incident.
Channel 8 video shows this to be a trenching site.
The injured have been taken to Parkland Hospital.
WFAA ABC 8
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Three people have been injured in an explosion in Irving, according to fire officials.
The explosion took place just after 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning at the 600 Block of Beltline at Sherwood Village Mobile Home Park.
A crew working on a sewer line encountered gasoline fumes which caused a flash fire.
Co-workers say their colleagues' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
Investigators are on their way to the scene of the incident.
Channel 8 video shows this to be a trenching site.
The injured have been taken to Parkland Hospital.
WFAA ABC 8
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