Report blasts inventory gap at Parkland
Dallas County: Some departments hoarding while others scavenge
By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Purchasing practices at Parkland Memorial Hospital are so out of whack that some departments are overloaded with medical supplies while others are forced to scavenge for what they need, a consultant's report released Tuesday concluded.
"People are doing things to support their particular areas of the hospital, and there is little accountability," Bill Vanaski, Parkland's chief operating officer, told the hospital's board of managers.
Parkland officials expressed surprise that the three-week review of some of the county hospital's inventory and purchasing system unearthed more medical supplies – $1.2 million worth – than expected, based on hospital records.
In some cases, the supplies were being delivered regularly to departments that had no space to hold them, with employees stacking the items on a cart near overstuffed storage areas. Meanwhile, periodic shortages were sending nurses in search of basic supplies before surgery could be performed in the hospital's operating rooms.
Mr. Vanaski said the virtual hoarding of supplies within the county's massive health care system was an indication that the staff felt a "frustration and lack of confidence in how the system operates."
"The process is broken, and there is little management oversight, and the IT system is not helpful," he conceded.
The Parkland board flagged the inventory problem in January after an audit indicated erratic purchasing habits. The consulting group, Renior Corp. of Herndon, Va., canvassed the hospital's inventory, supply chain and purchasing practices.
The group did not find that inventory was missing, said board member Ophelia Camina, who headed a board subcommittee that looked into the problem.
"It's not that someone stole it," she said. "There is no suggestion of wrongdoing or intentional malfeasance.
"It's just that the supplies are sitting in some ward where the nurses have their private stash for their patients."
To fix the problem, the report recommended that the hospital hire someone to oversee its supply chain, as well as other support staff to better control purchasing. It was estimated it would cost $1.6 million to set up a new system of controls and $2.6 million over the next five years for an information technology system to assist the process.
Eventually, the hospital expects to save at least $5.1 million annually through inventory reduction and better management of the hospital's supplies, administrators said. The hospital spent $169 million on supplies last year.
Dr. Lauren McDonald, a kidney specialist and the board's chairwoman, said she understood the medical staff's desire to keep a private supply of bandages or other commonly needed items in a hospital that admitted nearly 40,000 patients last year.
"The staff wants to keep a little supply of basic items in case they're needed in the middle of the night," she suggested. "I also think it's become a habit to do that because this is a big government institution, and they've never really had to answer for how supplies are used or the purchasing principals they followed." But her colleagues made it clear that they expect the hoarding to stop.
"We're willing to do whatever needs to be done to expedite it," said board member Alan Walne. "I think we're on the right track."
News from the Lone Star State
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Fines for red-light cameras now in effect
Running traffic signals could cost drivers $75 in Plano, Richardson
By JAKE BATSELL and WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
That next red light you run could take a bite out of your checkbook.
Starting today, Plano and Richardson will issue $75 fines for red-light violations caught on film. The change comes after a one-month warning period characterized by trial and error.
"The goal is not to issue a lot of citations," Plano traffic Lt. Jeff Wise said. "The goal is to get people to stop at the stoplight."
Only two of four Plano intersections selected for the cameras have been active during the warning phase. The two remaining intersections – Dallas Parkway at Legacy Drive and Park Boulevard at Ventura Drive – had been awaiting power and Internet connections but are expected to start snapping this week, Lt. Wise said.
For the past month, Plano and its camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, have been troubleshooting at the other two intersections by adjusting equipment, software and camera angles.
In some cases, motorists called police to report rapid-fire camera flashes when nobody was running red lights.
"Their error rate, while they're tweaking the system, is pretty high," Lt. Wise said. "But the converse of that is, they're capturing every violation. They're just also capturing [incidents] that aren't violations, and those are being screened out."
Before citations are sent to the car's registered owner, Lt. Wise said, they are screened twice – first by Redflex and then by a police officer. The cameras also capture 12 seconds of video.
The $75 fines, which increase to $150 for a third violation, are civil violations and will not go on anybody's driving record. Appeals are heard by an administrative hearing officer.
As of Monday, Plano police had mailed 124 warnings for red-light violations at 15th Street and Independence Parkway and 45 warnings for Spring Creek Parkway and Custer Road. An additional 166 violations at both intersections are still being evaluated.
In Richardson, 406 motorists have received letters for running red lights, while 113 more violations are still being processed.
Most of the violations – 290 – were captured on camera at Greenville Avenue and Centennial Boulevard. The remaining 116 violations occurred at Plano and Arapaho roads.
Richardson had some start-up glitches with the camera at Greenville and Centennial, but both cameras have been operational most of the month, said Sgt. Kevin Perlich, a spokesman for the Richardson Police Department.
Sgt. Perlich said he was not surprised by the numbers.
"We certainly knew we had issues with people running red lights," Sgt. Perlich said. "But to see these types of numbers, what's surprising to us is that we have not had more accidents."
Frisco had been planning to debut the cameras in late February but has pushed back installation by at least a month, Police Chief Todd Renshaw said.
Fremont, Calif., which added Redflex cameras in 2000 and is still using them, also had delays and technical glitches during the initial rollout, said Sgt. Chris Mazzone, a spokesman for Fremont police.
"When you're dealing with that type of technology and the installation process, it's not uncommon at all to have some delays," Sgt. Mazzone said. "Once they got them going, it was fine."
Staff writer Bill Lodge contributed to this report.
Running traffic signals could cost drivers $75 in Plano, Richardson
By JAKE BATSELL and WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
That next red light you run could take a bite out of your checkbook.
Starting today, Plano and Richardson will issue $75 fines for red-light violations caught on film. The change comes after a one-month warning period characterized by trial and error.
"The goal is not to issue a lot of citations," Plano traffic Lt. Jeff Wise said. "The goal is to get people to stop at the stoplight."
Only two of four Plano intersections selected for the cameras have been active during the warning phase. The two remaining intersections – Dallas Parkway at Legacy Drive and Park Boulevard at Ventura Drive – had been awaiting power and Internet connections but are expected to start snapping this week, Lt. Wise said.
For the past month, Plano and its camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, have been troubleshooting at the other two intersections by adjusting equipment, software and camera angles.
In some cases, motorists called police to report rapid-fire camera flashes when nobody was running red lights.
"Their error rate, while they're tweaking the system, is pretty high," Lt. Wise said. "But the converse of that is, they're capturing every violation. They're just also capturing [incidents] that aren't violations, and those are being screened out."
Before citations are sent to the car's registered owner, Lt. Wise said, they are screened twice – first by Redflex and then by a police officer. The cameras also capture 12 seconds of video.
The $75 fines, which increase to $150 for a third violation, are civil violations and will not go on anybody's driving record. Appeals are heard by an administrative hearing officer.
As of Monday, Plano police had mailed 124 warnings for red-light violations at 15th Street and Independence Parkway and 45 warnings for Spring Creek Parkway and Custer Road. An additional 166 violations at both intersections are still being evaluated.
In Richardson, 406 motorists have received letters for running red lights, while 113 more violations are still being processed.
Most of the violations – 290 – were captured on camera at Greenville Avenue and Centennial Boulevard. The remaining 116 violations occurred at Plano and Arapaho roads.
Richardson had some start-up glitches with the camera at Greenville and Centennial, but both cameras have been operational most of the month, said Sgt. Kevin Perlich, a spokesman for the Richardson Police Department.
Sgt. Perlich said he was not surprised by the numbers.
"We certainly knew we had issues with people running red lights," Sgt. Perlich said. "But to see these types of numbers, what's surprising to us is that we have not had more accidents."
Frisco had been planning to debut the cameras in late February but has pushed back installation by at least a month, Police Chief Todd Renshaw said.
Fremont, Calif., which added Redflex cameras in 2000 and is still using them, also had delays and technical glitches during the initial rollout, said Sgt. Chris Mazzone, a spokesman for Fremont police.
"When you're dealing with that type of technology and the installation process, it's not uncommon at all to have some delays," Sgt. Mazzone said. "Once they got them going, it was fine."
Staff writer Bill Lodge contributed to this report.
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High court to hear Texas remap arguments today
Decision might turn on whether voters have been disenfranchised
By ALLEN PUSEY / The Dallas Morning News
When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today about congressional districts drawn up by the Legislature in 2003, it will consider whether an inherently political process may have become too political in Texas and disenfranchised voters.
The redistricting, the product of the legislative leadership and former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was crafted after four legislative sessions. Democrats in the state House and Senate each fled Texas, stopping most activity in their respective chambers, in unsuccessful bids to halt the process.
Republicans had argued that the state's congressional delegation failed to adequately reflect the ascent of the GOP in the state and population shifts revealed in the 2000 census.
Road to the court
After the 2000 census, Texas' allotment of congressional districts increased from 30 to 32. Legislatures have the constitutional obligation to redistrict, but the 2001 Texas Legislature was split: the Senate controlled by Republicans, the House controlled by Democrats. When they failed to agree on a remap, the matter went to court.
In 2001, a three-judge federal panel helped redraw the state congressional map, preserving many old district lines. In 2002 elections, Republicans gained two new seats, but Democrats still outnumbered them, 17-15.
At the same time, the GOP gained control of both houses of the Legislature. When it convened in 2003, the Republican majority redrew the court-authorized districts. After a bitter partisan struggle, the plan was adopted in October 2003. The matter went back to court.
A series of cases were filed by Texas Democrats, black and Hispanic minorities and residents in 17 of the redrawn districts. The cases were consolidated and heard by the same federal court that drew the 2001 map.
In January 2004, the court, in a split vote, validated the Republican plan. The case was appealed but returned to the court in October 2004 after the Supreme Court ruled in a related Pennsylvania redistricting case. In June 2005, the court again approved the Republican plan, this time unanimously.
In December, the Supreme Court decided it would consider Texas' redistricting, setting the hearing date for today. The justices expedited the hearing, which normally wouldn't have been expected until late spring.
The legal context
The background is replete with anecdotal intrigue: the indictment of the Republican plan's architect, Mr. DeLay; the high-profile boycott of two legislative sessions called to deal with redistricting; rejection of the plan by voting rights specialists at the Department of Justice who were overruled by political appointees.
Still, the outcome will probably turn on two prior Supreme Court cases and the views of one justice.
In 2003, the court rejected, 5-4, a Republican governor's challenge of a map drawn by the Democratic-controlled Georgia Legislature, which spread black voters across several districts to maximize their political clout.
In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled – again 5-4 – that "excessive partisan gerrymandering" couldn't be defined well enough to make it possible for courts to intervene. Although he agreed with the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that some day the court would have to deal with the issue.
Texas Democrats are hoping to convince Justice Kennedy that that day has come.
Decision might turn on whether voters have been disenfranchised
By ALLEN PUSEY / The Dallas Morning News
When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today about congressional districts drawn up by the Legislature in 2003, it will consider whether an inherently political process may have become too political in Texas and disenfranchised voters.
The redistricting, the product of the legislative leadership and former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was crafted after four legislative sessions. Democrats in the state House and Senate each fled Texas, stopping most activity in their respective chambers, in unsuccessful bids to halt the process.
Republicans had argued that the state's congressional delegation failed to adequately reflect the ascent of the GOP in the state and population shifts revealed in the 2000 census.
Road to the court
After the 2000 census, Texas' allotment of congressional districts increased from 30 to 32. Legislatures have the constitutional obligation to redistrict, but the 2001 Texas Legislature was split: the Senate controlled by Republicans, the House controlled by Democrats. When they failed to agree on a remap, the matter went to court.
In 2001, a three-judge federal panel helped redraw the state congressional map, preserving many old district lines. In 2002 elections, Republicans gained two new seats, but Democrats still outnumbered them, 17-15.
At the same time, the GOP gained control of both houses of the Legislature. When it convened in 2003, the Republican majority redrew the court-authorized districts. After a bitter partisan struggle, the plan was adopted in October 2003. The matter went back to court.
A series of cases were filed by Texas Democrats, black and Hispanic minorities and residents in 17 of the redrawn districts. The cases were consolidated and heard by the same federal court that drew the 2001 map.
In January 2004, the court, in a split vote, validated the Republican plan. The case was appealed but returned to the court in October 2004 after the Supreme Court ruled in a related Pennsylvania redistricting case. In June 2005, the court again approved the Republican plan, this time unanimously.
In December, the Supreme Court decided it would consider Texas' redistricting, setting the hearing date for today. The justices expedited the hearing, which normally wouldn't have been expected until late spring.
The legal context
The background is replete with anecdotal intrigue: the indictment of the Republican plan's architect, Mr. DeLay; the high-profile boycott of two legislative sessions called to deal with redistricting; rejection of the plan by voting rights specialists at the Department of Justice who were overruled by political appointees.
Still, the outcome will probably turn on two prior Supreme Court cases and the views of one justice.
In 2003, the court rejected, 5-4, a Republican governor's challenge of a map drawn by the Democratic-controlled Georgia Legislature, which spread black voters across several districts to maximize their political clout.
In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled – again 5-4 – that "excessive partisan gerrymandering" couldn't be defined well enough to make it possible for courts to intervene. Although he agreed with the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that some day the court would have to deal with the issue.
Texas Democrats are hoping to convince Justice Kennedy that that day has come.
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Highland Park adults who allow youth drinking targeted
Highland Park: Council OKs ordinance to halt minors' alcohol use
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Highland Park police have a new tool to combat underage drinking.
At Monday's Town Council meeting, members unanimously approved an ordinance that targets adults who knowingly allow people under 21 years old to gather and consume alcohol.
The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.
"We in the department have been practicing zero tolerance for almost 10 years now," said Darrell Fant, chief of the Highland Park Public Safety Department. "When we respond to these activities, many times we find that parents are home" while underage drinking is taking place.
"This will make that illegal," Chief Fant said.
Officers previously wrote Class C citations for minors possessing or drinking alcohol, but little was done to target those who hosted the parties.
Leaders from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Chemical Awareness Resources and Education, and the Greater Dallas Council on Drug Abuse attended the meeting to endorse the ordinance.
Supporters say it's the first of its kind in Texas.
"I'm just so proud of our law enforcement and City Council," said Mary Kardell, executive director of the North Texas chapter of MADD.
Mayor Bill White said, "Nothing makes the council happier than to be on the cutting edge of something like this." Mr. White added that the ordinance would be worth it if it "can save one accident or one person's life."
Chief Fant stressed that the ordinance isn't intended for first-time offenders or adults who help police curb underage drinking.
"It's meant to address habitual locations," he said.
Highland Park police ticketed 31 teens – many of them athletes – for alcohol-related offenses at a party Jan 2. No arrests were made at that party, at a home in the 4600 block of Edmondson Avenue.
In November, Highland Park police arrested a 17-year-old and issued tickets to two other teens for alcohol-related offenses after a party at a home on Armstrong Drive.
Although most of those cited at the November party attended private schools, the more recent incident involved predominantly Highland Park High students and recent graduates.
Many were varsity football, tennis and track athletes.
Highland Park: Council OKs ordinance to halt minors' alcohol use
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Highland Park police have a new tool to combat underage drinking.
At Monday's Town Council meeting, members unanimously approved an ordinance that targets adults who knowingly allow people under 21 years old to gather and consume alcohol.
The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.
"We in the department have been practicing zero tolerance for almost 10 years now," said Darrell Fant, chief of the Highland Park Public Safety Department. "When we respond to these activities, many times we find that parents are home" while underage drinking is taking place.
"This will make that illegal," Chief Fant said.
Officers previously wrote Class C citations for minors possessing or drinking alcohol, but little was done to target those who hosted the parties.
Leaders from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Chemical Awareness Resources and Education, and the Greater Dallas Council on Drug Abuse attended the meeting to endorse the ordinance.
Supporters say it's the first of its kind in Texas.
"I'm just so proud of our law enforcement and City Council," said Mary Kardell, executive director of the North Texas chapter of MADD.
Mayor Bill White said, "Nothing makes the council happier than to be on the cutting edge of something like this." Mr. White added that the ordinance would be worth it if it "can save one accident or one person's life."
Chief Fant stressed that the ordinance isn't intended for first-time offenders or adults who help police curb underage drinking.
"It's meant to address habitual locations," he said.
Highland Park police ticketed 31 teens – many of them athletes – for alcohol-related offenses at a party Jan 2. No arrests were made at that party, at a home in the 4600 block of Edmondson Avenue.
In November, Highland Park police arrested a 17-year-old and issued tickets to two other teens for alcohol-related offenses after a party at a home on Armstrong Drive.
Although most of those cited at the November party attended private schools, the more recent incident involved predominantly Highland Park High students and recent graduates.
Many were varsity football, tennis and track athletes.
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Hurst store clerk shot during robbery
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
HURST, Texas – A convenience store clerk was shot and wounded in an early Wednesday morning robbery and a woman who accompanied the shooter also was struck by gunfire, police said.
The clerk was taken to a local hospital. His condition was not immediately known, said Assistant Police Chief Richard Winstanley.
The clerk was working alone around 12:30 a.m. at the Conoco service station in the 1400 block of West Hurst Boulevard.
The shooter and the woman entered the store and shots rang out, police said.
The woman was hit in the shoulder by gunfire from the shooter. Her wound appears to be superficial, police said.
The clerk did not fire any shots and police believe he was not armed.
Investigators were still looking for the gunman. Chief Winstanley would not comment on the woman’s whereabouts or whether she will be charged in the robbery.
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
HURST, Texas – A convenience store clerk was shot and wounded in an early Wednesday morning robbery and a woman who accompanied the shooter also was struck by gunfire, police said.
The clerk was taken to a local hospital. His condition was not immediately known, said Assistant Police Chief Richard Winstanley.
The clerk was working alone around 12:30 a.m. at the Conoco service station in the 1400 block of West Hurst Boulevard.
The shooter and the woman entered the store and shots rang out, police said.
The woman was hit in the shoulder by gunfire from the shooter. Her wound appears to be superficial, police said.
The clerk did not fire any shots and police believe he was not armed.
Investigators were still looking for the gunman. Chief Winstanley would not comment on the woman’s whereabouts or whether she will be charged in the robbery.
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Traffic Alert:
FRISCO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Delays are expected this afternoon along northbound Dallas North Tollway due to traffic heading to the Mexico vs. Ghana soccer match at Frisco's Pizza Hut Park.
Live Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports form Traffic Pulse.
FRISCO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Delays are expected this afternoon along northbound Dallas North Tollway due to traffic heading to the Mexico vs. Ghana soccer match at Frisco's Pizza Hut Park.
Live Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports form Traffic Pulse.
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Man speaks out on Fort Worth ATM murder
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth man has spoken out about the murder of Dwight Rochon, 46, early Wednesday as he was making a transaction at an automated teller machine in the city's Stop Six neighborhood.
Delson Rochon was behind the wheel, when he drove his uncle up to the ATM to withdraw cash at about 1 a.m. this morning.
"I pulled up to the ATM. You know how you pull a little bit back, so he could walk to the ATM. When he withdrew his money out and got ready to go to the car, that's when they tried to rob him," he said.
Police are questioning two male and one female suspect and searching for one other in connection with the crime.
Investigators said four people in a white Honda had pulled up to the Chase bank branch at Loop 820 and Ramey Ave. before trying to rob Rochon.
They shot him in the abdomen and then fled.
"It was just horrible. I called 911 and then tried to offer some help," added his nephew.
The wounded man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A vehicle matching the description of the suspects' car was stopped at Loop 820 and 15th Street. The four occupants fled, but two men and a woman were captured.
Canine units were employed in the search for the fourth suspect.
Dwight Rochon was a family man with five children.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth man has spoken out about the murder of Dwight Rochon, 46, early Wednesday as he was making a transaction at an automated teller machine in the city's Stop Six neighborhood.
Delson Rochon was behind the wheel, when he drove his uncle up to the ATM to withdraw cash at about 1 a.m. this morning.
"I pulled up to the ATM. You know how you pull a little bit back, so he could walk to the ATM. When he withdrew his money out and got ready to go to the car, that's when they tried to rob him," he said.
Police are questioning two male and one female suspect and searching for one other in connection with the crime.
Investigators said four people in a white Honda had pulled up to the Chase bank branch at Loop 820 and Ramey Ave. before trying to rob Rochon.
They shot him in the abdomen and then fled.
"It was just horrible. I called 911 and then tried to offer some help," added his nephew.
The wounded man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A vehicle matching the description of the suspects' car was stopped at Loop 820 and 15th Street. The four occupants fled, but two men and a woman were captured.
Canine units were employed in the search for the fourth suspect.
Dwight Rochon was a family man with five children.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
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Man says Plano firm fired him for staying with dying wife
PLANO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A man says he was fired from his job of 13 years with a Plano-based company for being at his wife’s side as she died of brain cancer.
Bernard Chippie, a Pennsylvania-based sales representative for Rug Doctor LP of Plano, said he notified his employer on Feb. 13 that he would not be able to finish his weekly route because he had just learned his wife had between two days and a week to live.
"There was never a question of where I needed to be," Chippie said. He went to Kathleen Chippie's bedside at a hospice that day.
Three days later - on Thursday- his boss at Rug Doctor LP demanded that Chippie be at work the next day, Chippie said. Chippie said he couldn't and was fired, he said.
Kathleen Chippie died that Sunday at the age of 56.
Jeffrey Rawlings, a spokesman for Plano, Texas-based Rug Doctor, said the company went out of its way to accommodate Chippie, who was off many days in the months leading up to his wife's death.
"We said, 'We've heard this for six or eight months. Each time you're gone for a week or so. We can't continue to let that route go,"' Rawlings said. "Ultimately we have a performance level to maintain."
Chippie, 56, of Paint, said he was never off more than three days straight.
"When she was scheduled for surgery, I'd run stops ahead two or three days," Chippie said. "Afterward, I'd run Saturday to make up stops."
Rawlings said Chippie used all his vacation, sick days and unpaid leave well before Feb. 13. But Chippie said he had some vacation left.
Chippie said he will start looking for another job soon.
PLANO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A man says he was fired from his job of 13 years with a Plano-based company for being at his wife’s side as she died of brain cancer.
Bernard Chippie, a Pennsylvania-based sales representative for Rug Doctor LP of Plano, said he notified his employer on Feb. 13 that he would not be able to finish his weekly route because he had just learned his wife had between two days and a week to live.
"There was never a question of where I needed to be," Chippie said. He went to Kathleen Chippie's bedside at a hospice that day.
Three days later - on Thursday- his boss at Rug Doctor LP demanded that Chippie be at work the next day, Chippie said. Chippie said he couldn't and was fired, he said.
Kathleen Chippie died that Sunday at the age of 56.
Jeffrey Rawlings, a spokesman for Plano, Texas-based Rug Doctor, said the company went out of its way to accommodate Chippie, who was off many days in the months leading up to his wife's death.
"We said, 'We've heard this for six or eight months. Each time you're gone for a week or so. We can't continue to let that route go,"' Rawlings said. "Ultimately we have a performance level to maintain."
Chippie, 56, of Paint, said he was never off more than three days straight.
"When she was scheduled for surgery, I'd run stops ahead two or three days," Chippie said. "Afterward, I'd run Saturday to make up stops."
Rawlings said Chippie used all his vacation, sick days and unpaid leave well before Feb. 13. But Chippie said he had some vacation left.
Chippie said he will start looking for another job soon.
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No decision on Schlosser retrial
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
MCKINNEY, Texas - No decision was made Wednesday whether the state will retry Dena Schlosser for capital murder in the death of her 10-month old daughter. A choice could be made at a hearing later this month.
Her trial ended Saturday in a mistrial. Schlosser, 37, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in Maggie Schlosser’s death.
A recent change in state law would also allow the Collin County District Attorney’s office to agree Schlosser was insane. The state’s other options are to seek a second trial or dismiss the charges.
Maggie was killed in November 2004 at the family’s Plano apartment when Schlosser cut the baby’s arms off on what she believed was an order from God. The state and defense do not disagree that Schlosser killed Maggie—only about her state of mind at the time.
Schlosser was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and the defense contends she had a break with reality when Maggie died.
After more than 40 hours of deliberations over for days, the jury deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of insanity. Three psychiatrists testified for the defense that Schlosser was insane when she killed Maggie. No psychiatrists testified that she was sane when Maggie died.
Schlosser remains at the Collin County jail.
An insanity verdict or an agreement she is insane would send her to North Texas State Hospital in Vernon until a judge agrees she should be released. A guilty verdict would send her to prison for life.
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
MCKINNEY, Texas - No decision was made Wednesday whether the state will retry Dena Schlosser for capital murder in the death of her 10-month old daughter. A choice could be made at a hearing later this month.
Her trial ended Saturday in a mistrial. Schlosser, 37, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in Maggie Schlosser’s death.
A recent change in state law would also allow the Collin County District Attorney’s office to agree Schlosser was insane. The state’s other options are to seek a second trial or dismiss the charges.
Maggie was killed in November 2004 at the family’s Plano apartment when Schlosser cut the baby’s arms off on what she believed was an order from God. The state and defense do not disagree that Schlosser killed Maggie—only about her state of mind at the time.
Schlosser was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and the defense contends she had a break with reality when Maggie died.
After more than 40 hours of deliberations over for days, the jury deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of insanity. Three psychiatrists testified for the defense that Schlosser was insane when she killed Maggie. No psychiatrists testified that she was sane when Maggie died.
Schlosser remains at the Collin County jail.
An insanity verdict or an agreement she is insane would send her to North Texas State Hospital in Vernon until a judge agrees she should be released. A guilty verdict would send her to prison for life.
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20-year-old arrested over ATM murder
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of Dwight Rochon, 46, early Wednesday as he was making a transaction at an automated teller machine in Fort Worth's Stop Six neighborhood.
Nathan Collins, 20, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and charged with capital murder.
He is one of four men suspected in the deadly robbery.
Delson Rochon was behind the wheel, when he drove his uncle up to the ATM to withdraw cash at about 1 a.m. this morning.
"I pulled up to the ATM. You know how you pull a little bit back, so he could walk to the ATM. When he withdrew his money out and got ready to go to the car, that's when they tried to rob him," he said.
Police are also questioning two male and one female suspect.
Investigators said four people in a white Honda had pulled up to the Chase bank branch at Loop 820 and Ramey Ave. before trying to rob Rochon.
They shot him in the abdomen and then fled.
"It was just horrible. I called 911 and then tried to offer some help," added his nephew.
The wounded man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A vehicle matching the description of the suspects' car was stopped at Loop 820 and 15th Street. The four occupants fled, but two men and a woman were captured.
Dwight Rochon was a family man with four children.
"They got his money, so why did they kill him?" said his sister, Sonceria Clerley.
"I don't think there is anything a victim could have done to have prevented this," said Lt Dean Sullivan from Fort Worth police.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of Dwight Rochon, 46, early Wednesday as he was making a transaction at an automated teller machine in Fort Worth's Stop Six neighborhood.
Nathan Collins, 20, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and charged with capital murder.
He is one of four men suspected in the deadly robbery.
Delson Rochon was behind the wheel, when he drove his uncle up to the ATM to withdraw cash at about 1 a.m. this morning.
"I pulled up to the ATM. You know how you pull a little bit back, so he could walk to the ATM. When he withdrew his money out and got ready to go to the car, that's when they tried to rob him," he said.
Police are also questioning two male and one female suspect.
Investigators said four people in a white Honda had pulled up to the Chase bank branch at Loop 820 and Ramey Ave. before trying to rob Rochon.
They shot him in the abdomen and then fled.
"It was just horrible. I called 911 and then tried to offer some help," added his nephew.
The wounded man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A vehicle matching the description of the suspects' car was stopped at Loop 820 and 15th Street. The four occupants fled, but two men and a woman were captured.
Dwight Rochon was a family man with four children.
"They got his money, so why did they kill him?" said his sister, Sonceria Clerley.
"I don't think there is anything a victim could have done to have prevented this," said Lt Dean Sullivan from Fort Worth police.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas selects new fire chief
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - A veteran Fort Worth firefighter with a job-appropriate name will become the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department’s new chief.
Fort Worth Fire Department Executive Deputy Chief Eddie Burns will assume Dallas’ top job as of April 19, City Manager Mary Suhm announced Wednesday.
Ms. Suhm cited Chief Burns’ “very impressive history” and “progressive fire-fighting experience” as reasons for his hiring. She said his commitment to diversity in hiring and promotions, as well as emphasis on physical fitness among firefighters, also contributed to his selection.
“Dallas has one of the nation’s premier departments,” Chief Burns said Wednesday evening. “And I see this as an opportunity to enhance it and grow it and take it to another level.”
Among his goals: improve departmental diversity and firefighter training, and create a more efficient EMS service. Chief Burns added that he plans to assess the quality of Dallas’ fire stations and equipment, and recommend improvements as necessary.
As for the firefighters themselves, Dallas is filled with talent, he said. And while staff diversity is important, “I want the most qualified individuals available,” Chief Burns said.
A Fort Worth firefighter since 1979, Chief Burns fills a spot vacated in September by former Chief Steve Abraira, who resigned under pressure from Ms. Suhm. Louie Bright III, one of four finalists along with Chief Burns, has served as interim chief since then.
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - A veteran Fort Worth firefighter with a job-appropriate name will become the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department’s new chief.
Fort Worth Fire Department Executive Deputy Chief Eddie Burns will assume Dallas’ top job as of April 19, City Manager Mary Suhm announced Wednesday.
Ms. Suhm cited Chief Burns’ “very impressive history” and “progressive fire-fighting experience” as reasons for his hiring. She said his commitment to diversity in hiring and promotions, as well as emphasis on physical fitness among firefighters, also contributed to his selection.
“Dallas has one of the nation’s premier departments,” Chief Burns said Wednesday evening. “And I see this as an opportunity to enhance it and grow it and take it to another level.”
Among his goals: improve departmental diversity and firefighter training, and create a more efficient EMS service. Chief Burns added that he plans to assess the quality of Dallas’ fire stations and equipment, and recommend improvements as necessary.
As for the firefighters themselves, Dallas is filled with talent, he said. And while staff diversity is important, “I want the most qualified individuals available,” Chief Burns said.
A Fort Worth firefighter since 1979, Chief Burns fills a spot vacated in September by former Chief Steve Abraira, who resigned under pressure from Ms. Suhm. Louie Bright III, one of four finalists along with Chief Burns, has served as interim chief since then.
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Man accused of killing 14-year-old girl enters guilty plea
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas – A man accused of killing a 14-year-old Arlington girl he met through a chat room pleaded guilty Wednesday – the same day he was to go on trial.
Ronald Michael Hill, 33, could face up to 99 years in prison in the death of Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.
The girl was killed March 15. Jurors are hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial before State District Judge George Gallagher.
Mr. Hill sat for a few minutes of testimony Wednesday but was allowed to leave the courtroom.
“He is noticeably absent,” said his attorney Edwin Youngblood, who declined further comment.
Ingrid, 15, was found dead at her home in south Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors claim Mr. Hill killed the 15-year-old girl after she told him she was pregnant.
The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals – a singles chat line, police said.
Jurors were shown a video of Mr. Hill entering a Walgreen’s store near Ingrid’s house where he purchased a pregnancy test and condoms.
Richard Householder, senior risk manager for First Medium Group, which owns Quest Personals, testified Mr. Hill became a customer in 2003.
Records from the Toronto, Canada Company show Mr. Hill spent about $2,500 to look at ads and talk live to other browsers.
The company charges men to use the service but is free to women, Mr. Householder said.
Quest Personals attempts to keep those under 18 from entering the chat rooms, he said
“We don’t believe minors should be using our service,” Mr. Householder said.
Ingrid, he said, first used the system in November – four months before she was slain.
Testimony resumes Thursday.
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas – A man accused of killing a 14-year-old Arlington girl he met through a chat room pleaded guilty Wednesday – the same day he was to go on trial.
Ronald Michael Hill, 33, could face up to 99 years in prison in the death of Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.
The girl was killed March 15. Jurors are hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial before State District Judge George Gallagher.
Mr. Hill sat for a few minutes of testimony Wednesday but was allowed to leave the courtroom.
“He is noticeably absent,” said his attorney Edwin Youngblood, who declined further comment.
Ingrid, 15, was found dead at her home in south Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors claim Mr. Hill killed the 15-year-old girl after she told him she was pregnant.
The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals – a singles chat line, police said.
Jurors were shown a video of Mr. Hill entering a Walgreen’s store near Ingrid’s house where he purchased a pregnancy test and condoms.
Richard Householder, senior risk manager for First Medium Group, which owns Quest Personals, testified Mr. Hill became a customer in 2003.
Records from the Toronto, Canada Company show Mr. Hill spent about $2,500 to look at ads and talk live to other browsers.
The company charges men to use the service but is free to women, Mr. Householder said.
Quest Personals attempts to keep those under 18 from entering the chat rooms, he said
“We don’t believe minors should be using our service,” Mr. Householder said.
Ingrid, he said, first used the system in November – four months before she was slain.
Testimony resumes Thursday.
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TexasStooge
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TexasStooge
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News 8 finds alleged illegal Texas casinos
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - While political and religious leaders have worked vigilantly over the years to keep casinos out of Texas, a cluster of them have begun to thrive just east of Dallas.
News 8 discovered at least nine casinos that were all operating illegally in Hunt County south of Greenville. Some were billed as "game rooms." Others made no bones about their attraction.
Rows of video slots filled one business, giving it the feeling of a little casino, which is legal—as long as patrons win only prizes or vouchers. However, one local resident confirmed there was gambling inside the business.
"It's so addicting that... once you win money, you feel like you can just keep doing it," said the woman, who wanted to remain unnamed.
She said she moved to East Texas to escape the trappings of the city, yet found herself a prisoner of a ruinous addiction—in debt and in danger of losing her family.
"When you live right beside a casino, you don't go fishing," she said. "Your day is spent in a dark room pushing a button and feeding a machine with money."
News 8 went inside the establishment to check on the woman's claims. Is gambling going on here? "No sir, there is not," said one attendant.
Days earlier, an undercover camera captured images of what appeared to be the same attendant handing over cash winnings from a video slot machine to a WFAA-TV staffer.
"There you go," the attendant said. "Thanks ma'am, I appreciate it."
When the attendant was asked about the video, she claimed it wasn't her captured image.
"Not me, I guarantee you," she said. "No, I have not."
But in game room after game room, more video appeared to show the same story.
In the towns of West Tawakoni, Quinlan and even a little town called Cash, video captured attendants handing over cash winnings.
In every game room News 8 played, winnings were paid in cash.
But with the type of machines in these establishments, there is a catch. The machines come with an operation manual that lets the proprietor change the odds up or down by manipulating switches.
The odds are literally stacked against the players.
In West Tawaokoni, the police department is located right next to one of the alleged game rooms. Why aren't authorities there doing anything about it?
The city gets a cut of the action, according to a document that states a $250 yearly charge is levied for a permit fee on each machine.
The town of Quinlan takes a similar cut on machines found in one of their game rooms.
The mayor said she had no idea illegal gambling was taking place.
Hunt County Attorney Joel Littlefield said he had suspicions. "If they are paying cash, that's absolutely illegal and they will get shut down," he said. "If you have information that would help us do that, then we'd love to have it."
News 8 showed him the video, and he acknowledged that the attendant was handing over cash winnings.
Littlefield said the county seized several machines two years ago, but blamed their reemergence on a loophole in state law. The sheriff's department blamed the county commissioners for a lack of funds.
"First of all, we don't have an undercover camera," said Chief Deputy Robert White of the Hunt County Sheriff's Department. "Secondly, you have to have someone to work undercover."
The department recently sent out a letter to all of the game room operators telling them they will immediately start watching for illegal gambling.
One day later, News 8 went to several of the casinos. It looked like business as usual.
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - While political and religious leaders have worked vigilantly over the years to keep casinos out of Texas, a cluster of them have begun to thrive just east of Dallas.
News 8 discovered at least nine casinos that were all operating illegally in Hunt County south of Greenville. Some were billed as "game rooms." Others made no bones about their attraction.
Rows of video slots filled one business, giving it the feeling of a little casino, which is legal—as long as patrons win only prizes or vouchers. However, one local resident confirmed there was gambling inside the business.
"It's so addicting that... once you win money, you feel like you can just keep doing it," said the woman, who wanted to remain unnamed.
She said she moved to East Texas to escape the trappings of the city, yet found herself a prisoner of a ruinous addiction—in debt and in danger of losing her family.
"When you live right beside a casino, you don't go fishing," she said. "Your day is spent in a dark room pushing a button and feeding a machine with money."
News 8 went inside the establishment to check on the woman's claims. Is gambling going on here? "No sir, there is not," said one attendant.
Days earlier, an undercover camera captured images of what appeared to be the same attendant handing over cash winnings from a video slot machine to a WFAA-TV staffer.
"There you go," the attendant said. "Thanks ma'am, I appreciate it."
When the attendant was asked about the video, she claimed it wasn't her captured image.
"Not me, I guarantee you," she said. "No, I have not."
But in game room after game room, more video appeared to show the same story.
In the towns of West Tawakoni, Quinlan and even a little town called Cash, video captured attendants handing over cash winnings.
In every game room News 8 played, winnings were paid in cash.
But with the type of machines in these establishments, there is a catch. The machines come with an operation manual that lets the proprietor change the odds up or down by manipulating switches.
The odds are literally stacked against the players.
In West Tawaokoni, the police department is located right next to one of the alleged game rooms. Why aren't authorities there doing anything about it?
The city gets a cut of the action, according to a document that states a $250 yearly charge is levied for a permit fee on each machine.
The town of Quinlan takes a similar cut on machines found in one of their game rooms.
The mayor said she had no idea illegal gambling was taking place.
Hunt County Attorney Joel Littlefield said he had suspicions. "If they are paying cash, that's absolutely illegal and they will get shut down," he said. "If you have information that would help us do that, then we'd love to have it."
News 8 showed him the video, and he acknowledged that the attendant was handing over cash winnings.
Littlefield said the county seized several machines two years ago, but blamed their reemergence on a loophole in state law. The sheriff's department blamed the county commissioners for a lack of funds.
"First of all, we don't have an undercover camera," said Chief Deputy Robert White of the Hunt County Sheriff's Department. "Secondly, you have to have someone to work undercover."
The department recently sent out a letter to all of the game room operators telling them they will immediately start watching for illegal gambling.
One day later, News 8 went to several of the casinos. It looked like business as usual.
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TexasStooge
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Plano dog wash cleans by the coin
By MACIE JEPSON / WFAA ABC 8
PLANO, Texas - For those who have dreamed of a self-serve Laundromat-like doggie washateria, Bentley's Dog Wash in Plano may be the answer.
The dog wash, which opened Feb. 11 at 3013 W. Spring Creek Parkway, operates on coins and has self-contained areas where dogs sit from start to finish.
While some may wonder why dog owners would need such a spot to get their dogs soaped up, customers visiting the spot said they weren't so confused.
"I put her in the bathtub but then I have to clean up all the hair," said pet owner Susie Avnery. "This way they get the hair here and I just go home with a clean dog."
The spot even lured Christina Andrea who usually assigns the job of washing her dog Pepper to her husband.
"Looks like you just lost your job," she said.
But the job is cut down in half since the staff cleans up any mess customers and their dogs leave behind, and the high tubs are made for less bending.
"Your dog can be as dirty as it wants and come into our facility, come into Bentley's, and we'll clean up after you," said Michelle Musallam, Bentley's Dog Wash.
The dog wash could be compared to a trip to the hairstylist for the dogs since the washateria is equipped with conditioner and a dryer for a doggie blow out.
"This dryer is actually a coarse air dryer so it blows their hair out," said Katy French.
By MACIE JEPSON / WFAA ABC 8
PLANO, Texas - For those who have dreamed of a self-serve Laundromat-like doggie washateria, Bentley's Dog Wash in Plano may be the answer.
The dog wash, which opened Feb. 11 at 3013 W. Spring Creek Parkway, operates on coins and has self-contained areas where dogs sit from start to finish.
While some may wonder why dog owners would need such a spot to get their dogs soaped up, customers visiting the spot said they weren't so confused.
"I put her in the bathtub but then I have to clean up all the hair," said pet owner Susie Avnery. "This way they get the hair here and I just go home with a clean dog."
The spot even lured Christina Andrea who usually assigns the job of washing her dog Pepper to her husband.
"Looks like you just lost your job," she said.
But the job is cut down in half since the staff cleans up any mess customers and their dogs leave behind, and the high tubs are made for less bending.
"Your dog can be as dirty as it wants and come into our facility, come into Bentley's, and we'll clean up after you," said Michelle Musallam, Bentley's Dog Wash.
The dog wash could be compared to a trip to the hairstylist for the dogs since the washateria is equipped with conditioner and a dryer for a doggie blow out.
"This dryer is actually a coarse air dryer so it blows their hair out," said Katy French.
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TexasStooge
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Neck shrink trims 'turkey neck' in hour
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Some call it "turkey neck" but almost everyone would probably agree sagging skin below the jaw line makes people look older.
However, advances in cosmetic surgery allow patients to get rid of those sags and bags without major surgery.
Debbie Barrett is among many who said she isn't happy with her profile.
"My face is full," Barrett said. "I don't see the definition in my jaw line that I once had."
He said losing weight didn't seem to help, so she decided to see Fort Worth dermatologist Peter Malouf for a neck shrink.
"So, we're going to take out some weight if you will, mainly this bulging of the jowl to create more of a v-shape," Dr. Malouf said while examining Barrett.
The process takes about an hour, a local anesthetic is used and it should tone a droopy neck by combining two minimally invasive procedures.
First a light liposuction is done along the jaw line and neck with tiny tubes the size of a needle and muscle under the chin is then tightened.
"That's going to suck everything in a little bit in the chin and create a sharper angle," Dr. Malouf said.
While it's clearly not a drastic facelift, it is a subtle reshaping and tightening of the face that Dr. Malouf said will last.
"We're talking years because you're never going to get these fat cells again," he said. "So, the shape should last many years."
A month after her neck shrink, Debbie Barrett still has some swelling but said her face looks 15 pounds thinner and years better.
"...I can actually see my chin and there's nothing underneath it," she said. "It makes me feel a lot better about myself."
A neck shrink costs about $2,000, which is roughly half of what a partial face lift would cost. However, it is not covered by insurance.
Many cosmetic dermatologists and surgeons in North Texas can perform the procedure.
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Some call it "turkey neck" but almost everyone would probably agree sagging skin below the jaw line makes people look older.
However, advances in cosmetic surgery allow patients to get rid of those sags and bags without major surgery.
Debbie Barrett is among many who said she isn't happy with her profile.
"My face is full," Barrett said. "I don't see the definition in my jaw line that I once had."
He said losing weight didn't seem to help, so she decided to see Fort Worth dermatologist Peter Malouf for a neck shrink.
"So, we're going to take out some weight if you will, mainly this bulging of the jowl to create more of a v-shape," Dr. Malouf said while examining Barrett.
The process takes about an hour, a local anesthetic is used and it should tone a droopy neck by combining two minimally invasive procedures.
First a light liposuction is done along the jaw line and neck with tiny tubes the size of a needle and muscle under the chin is then tightened.
"That's going to suck everything in a little bit in the chin and create a sharper angle," Dr. Malouf said.
While it's clearly not a drastic facelift, it is a subtle reshaping and tightening of the face that Dr. Malouf said will last.
"We're talking years because you're never going to get these fat cells again," he said. "So, the shape should last many years."
A month after her neck shrink, Debbie Barrett still has some swelling but said her face looks 15 pounds thinner and years better.
"...I can actually see my chin and there's nothing underneath it," she said. "It makes me feel a lot better about myself."
A neck shrink costs about $2,000, which is roughly half of what a partial face lift would cost. However, it is not covered by insurance.
Many cosmetic dermatologists and surgeons in North Texas can perform the procedure.
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TexasStooge
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Highland Park parents applaud alcohol rule
Law targeting adults who let minors drink called 'a duh situation'
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
Several Park Cities parents are gung-ho about a Highland Park ordinance approved this week that targets adults who cast a blind eye to underage drinking.
The law, which supporters say is the first of its kind in Texas, is aimed at adults who knowingly allow people younger than 21 to gather and consume alcohol. A violation of the Class C misdemeanor carries a court date and fine up to $500.
"It is a very small number of households that we are targeting, but nonetheless we feel that we have a responsibility for all the kids here," said Detective Randy Millican, public information officer for the Highland Park Department of Public Safety.
Officers previously wrote Class C citations for minors possessing or drinking alcohol, but little was done to penalize those who hosted the parties.
Highland Park police have ticketed more than 30 teens for alcohol-related offenses at parties in recent months.
Susie Roberts, who has a son at Highland Park High, said the issue is a no-brainer.
"To me, it's a duh situation," she said. "If you've got children in your home that are not your own and the police come because there's a party going on, the law is black and white. They shouldn't be drinking."
Darrell Fant, chief of the Highland Park Public Safety Department, got the idea from Oregon, where three communities have adopted ordinances that require parental supervision to prevent underage drinking at parties in homes or rented facilities.
Janet Jones, program coordinator for the Yamhill County Prevention Program in northwest Oregon, said the community's desire to be more proactive about underage drinking inspired the ordinances.
"The culpability and punishment was almost tangential to our efforts," Ms. Jones said. "The community showed up in droves to talk about this new offense."
Several Park Cities residents said the local ordinance has been a long time coming.
"Everybody came together and worked hard on this," said Mary Kardell, executive director of the North Texas chapter of MADD. "Highland Park likes to set the trend and take the high road."
Mrs. Kardell, a University Park resident, pointed to a pledge that two Highland Park High moms created to show that Park Cities-area parents are trying to eliminate underage drinking.
The pledge says adults won't serve alcohol to students or permit them to bring alcohol into their home and they'll be present and aware during any student gathering hosted by their children.
Several hundred people have signed the pledge since Cindy Kerr and Lucy Johnson-McDonald first shared it with high school PTA members in August.
The two women said the ordinance is a step in the right direction.
"We know this is a bold step on the town of Highland Park's part, but we know that their true intent is the care and safety of our kids, and we applaud them for that," Mrs. Kerr said.
Steve Herod, who has three children in the school district, agreed the law is a good idea, one that "will put some teeth into what the town's trying to do."
"I'm not saying it from the standpoint that kids under 21 should never have a drop of alcohol," he said. "If a child, with a parent's guidance, wants to have a drink, I'm not opposed to that."
Several Highland Park High students said the ordinance may cause parents to think twice, but it won't do much if the police don't enforce it.
"If anything, it'll just get parents to be more aware of the kids that are coming over," said Ashley Hall, a Highland Park High senior. "If kids want to drink, they're going to do it one way or another."
In 1999, the local Alliance on Underage Drinking spearheaded a campaign called "Parents who Host, Lose the Most" after Dallas police issued 200 alcohol and curfew violations to Park Cities teens partying in a Deep Ellum warehouse.
Police officials have said that such busts still happen, but they're much smaller and are usually at someone's home.
In early January, Highland Park police ticketed 31 teens for alcohol-related offenses at a party. About six weeks earlier, officers arrested a 17-year-old and issued tickets to two other teens for alcohol-related offenses after another party.
The homeowners weren't cited in either case, something less likely to happen with the new ordinance, Detective Millican said.
Law targeting adults who let minors drink called 'a duh situation'
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
Several Park Cities parents are gung-ho about a Highland Park ordinance approved this week that targets adults who cast a blind eye to underage drinking.
The law, which supporters say is the first of its kind in Texas, is aimed at adults who knowingly allow people younger than 21 to gather and consume alcohol. A violation of the Class C misdemeanor carries a court date and fine up to $500.
"It is a very small number of households that we are targeting, but nonetheless we feel that we have a responsibility for all the kids here," said Detective Randy Millican, public information officer for the Highland Park Department of Public Safety.
Officers previously wrote Class C citations for minors possessing or drinking alcohol, but little was done to penalize those who hosted the parties.
Highland Park police have ticketed more than 30 teens for alcohol-related offenses at parties in recent months.
Susie Roberts, who has a son at Highland Park High, said the issue is a no-brainer.
"To me, it's a duh situation," she said. "If you've got children in your home that are not your own and the police come because there's a party going on, the law is black and white. They shouldn't be drinking."
Darrell Fant, chief of the Highland Park Public Safety Department, got the idea from Oregon, where three communities have adopted ordinances that require parental supervision to prevent underage drinking at parties in homes or rented facilities.
Janet Jones, program coordinator for the Yamhill County Prevention Program in northwest Oregon, said the community's desire to be more proactive about underage drinking inspired the ordinances.
"The culpability and punishment was almost tangential to our efforts," Ms. Jones said. "The community showed up in droves to talk about this new offense."
Several Park Cities residents said the local ordinance has been a long time coming.
"Everybody came together and worked hard on this," said Mary Kardell, executive director of the North Texas chapter of MADD. "Highland Park likes to set the trend and take the high road."
Mrs. Kardell, a University Park resident, pointed to a pledge that two Highland Park High moms created to show that Park Cities-area parents are trying to eliminate underage drinking.
The pledge says adults won't serve alcohol to students or permit them to bring alcohol into their home and they'll be present and aware during any student gathering hosted by their children.
Several hundred people have signed the pledge since Cindy Kerr and Lucy Johnson-McDonald first shared it with high school PTA members in August.
The two women said the ordinance is a step in the right direction.
"We know this is a bold step on the town of Highland Park's part, but we know that their true intent is the care and safety of our kids, and we applaud them for that," Mrs. Kerr said.
Steve Herod, who has three children in the school district, agreed the law is a good idea, one that "will put some teeth into what the town's trying to do."
"I'm not saying it from the standpoint that kids under 21 should never have a drop of alcohol," he said. "If a child, with a parent's guidance, wants to have a drink, I'm not opposed to that."
Several Highland Park High students said the ordinance may cause parents to think twice, but it won't do much if the police don't enforce it.
"If anything, it'll just get parents to be more aware of the kids that are coming over," said Ashley Hall, a Highland Park High senior. "If kids want to drink, they're going to do it one way or another."
In 1999, the local Alliance on Underage Drinking spearheaded a campaign called "Parents who Host, Lose the Most" after Dallas police issued 200 alcohol and curfew violations to Park Cities teens partying in a Deep Ellum warehouse.
Police officials have said that such busts still happen, but they're much smaller and are usually at someone's home.
In early January, Highland Park police ticketed 31 teens for alcohol-related offenses at a party. About six weeks earlier, officers arrested a 17-year-old and issued tickets to two other teens for alcohol-related offenses after another party.
The homeowners weren't cited in either case, something less likely to happen with the new ordinance, Detective Millican said.
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TexasStooge
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Exclusive: Opponent says justice copied books
Willett admits borrowing from Scalia, Bork in application for state Supreme Court
By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett's job application to the state included at least half a dozen examples of writing cribbed – without attribution – from two books by conservative legal stalwarts, the Republican's opponent said Wednesday.
Justice Willett, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to a vacant spot on Texas' highest civil court in August, confirmed having used the thoughts of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and former U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Bork.
But Justice Willett said there was nothing sinister in his borrowing the anecdotes, some of which he said "are so commonly repeated as to be part of the conservative lexicon, like the expression, 'legislate from the bench.' "
"There was no need for attribution," he said. "This wasn't an intensely footnoted law review article, judicial opinion or doctoral dissertation. It was a conversational, earnest discussion of what I believe about the nature of judging and the limited role of the judiciary."
Justice Willett's opponent in Tuesday's GOP primary, former Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith, said there's no question about the source of some of the more resonant language in the lengthy statement of judicial philosophy Justice Willett submitted to Mr. Perry before his appointment.
"They're not ideas so general that everybody has them: They're pretty much picked out of the verbiage of Bork and Scalia," Mr. Smith said. "It reflects a serious lack of judgment."
Mr. Smith, 44, who served on the court from 2002 to 2004, is best known for filing the Hopwood case protesting race-based admissions at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. He said that meticulous attribution is – or should be – second nature to lawyers and judges.
Charles Silver, a legal ethics professor at the UT law school, said there is no question of legal or judicial ethics, because the application was a political document, not a lawyerly or judicial work.
The question is whether such applications are usually footnoted and sourced, Mr. Silver said.
"If he [Justice Willett] believes these statements capture his views better than any other, he might have been doing the right thing," the professor said. "I think attribution would be the better practice. But, I'm not sure what the expectations are for a document like this."
At the time he submitted the application, Justice Willett, 39, was working as a top aide to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He replaced Justice Priscilla Owen, who was appointed to the federal appellate bench.
A spokesman for Mr. Perry said the governor has no problem with Justice Willett's application.
"The governor has full faith and confidence that Don Willett is and will continue to be an exemplary Supreme Court justice," said Perry spokesman Robert Black. "He views this as little more than a last-gasp political attack in the waning days of the campaign. "
Mr. Smith's campaign manager, David Rogers, said he discovered the similarities when a lawyer admiringly showed him Justice Willett's application while – coincidentally – Mr. Rodgers was re-reading Justice Scalia's book, A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law .
"I said, 'No wonder he looks smart and conservative – Scalia wrote this,' " said Mr. Rogers, who went on to catalogue similarities between the application and previously published works.
Some examples:
• Justice Willett, in his application, repeated nearly word-for-word an anecdote about Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Judge Learned Hand from Mr. Bork's 1990 book, The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law. In his book, Mr. Bork footnoted and attributed that story to two sources, while Justice Willett did not describe any source.
• In writing about a passage from a legal brief that he said showed over-reliance on legislative history, Justice Willett concluded, "Reality has surpassed parody." In his book, Justice Scalia scorned the same passage, with the opening line, "Reality has overtaken parody."
• Both Justice Willett and Mr. Bork disparaged less-than-rigorous legal reasoning. Justice Willett called it "free verse as defined by Robert Frost: 'tennis with the net down.' " Mr. Bork referred to "what Robert Frost called free verse, 'tennis with the net down.' "
Neither Mr. Bork's nor Justice Scalia's publisher returned calls seeking comment.
Willett admits borrowing from Scalia, Bork in application for state Supreme Court
By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett's job application to the state included at least half a dozen examples of writing cribbed – without attribution – from two books by conservative legal stalwarts, the Republican's opponent said Wednesday.
Justice Willett, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to a vacant spot on Texas' highest civil court in August, confirmed having used the thoughts of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and former U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Bork.
But Justice Willett said there was nothing sinister in his borrowing the anecdotes, some of which he said "are so commonly repeated as to be part of the conservative lexicon, like the expression, 'legislate from the bench.' "
"There was no need for attribution," he said. "This wasn't an intensely footnoted law review article, judicial opinion or doctoral dissertation. It was a conversational, earnest discussion of what I believe about the nature of judging and the limited role of the judiciary."
Justice Willett's opponent in Tuesday's GOP primary, former Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith, said there's no question about the source of some of the more resonant language in the lengthy statement of judicial philosophy Justice Willett submitted to Mr. Perry before his appointment.
"They're not ideas so general that everybody has them: They're pretty much picked out of the verbiage of Bork and Scalia," Mr. Smith said. "It reflects a serious lack of judgment."
Mr. Smith, 44, who served on the court from 2002 to 2004, is best known for filing the Hopwood case protesting race-based admissions at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. He said that meticulous attribution is – or should be – second nature to lawyers and judges.
Charles Silver, a legal ethics professor at the UT law school, said there is no question of legal or judicial ethics, because the application was a political document, not a lawyerly or judicial work.
The question is whether such applications are usually footnoted and sourced, Mr. Silver said.
"If he [Justice Willett] believes these statements capture his views better than any other, he might have been doing the right thing," the professor said. "I think attribution would be the better practice. But, I'm not sure what the expectations are for a document like this."
At the time he submitted the application, Justice Willett, 39, was working as a top aide to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He replaced Justice Priscilla Owen, who was appointed to the federal appellate bench.
A spokesman for Mr. Perry said the governor has no problem with Justice Willett's application.
"The governor has full faith and confidence that Don Willett is and will continue to be an exemplary Supreme Court justice," said Perry spokesman Robert Black. "He views this as little more than a last-gasp political attack in the waning days of the campaign. "
Mr. Smith's campaign manager, David Rogers, said he discovered the similarities when a lawyer admiringly showed him Justice Willett's application while – coincidentally – Mr. Rodgers was re-reading Justice Scalia's book, A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law .
"I said, 'No wonder he looks smart and conservative – Scalia wrote this,' " said Mr. Rogers, who went on to catalogue similarities between the application and previously published works.
Some examples:
• Justice Willett, in his application, repeated nearly word-for-word an anecdote about Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Judge Learned Hand from Mr. Bork's 1990 book, The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law. In his book, Mr. Bork footnoted and attributed that story to two sources, while Justice Willett did not describe any source.
• In writing about a passage from a legal brief that he said showed over-reliance on legislative history, Justice Willett concluded, "Reality has surpassed parody." In his book, Justice Scalia scorned the same passage, with the opening line, "Reality has overtaken parody."
• Both Justice Willett and Mr. Bork disparaged less-than-rigorous legal reasoning. Justice Willett called it "free verse as defined by Robert Frost: 'tennis with the net down.' " Mr. Bork referred to "what Robert Frost called free verse, 'tennis with the net down.' "
Neither Mr. Bork's nor Justice Scalia's publisher returned calls seeking comment.
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TexasStooge
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Man gets 20 years for shooting football coach
CANTON, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) – A man convicted of shooting his son's high school football coach was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum 20 years in prison.
A Van Zandt County jury on Monday convicted Jeff Doyal Robertson of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of then-Canton football coach Gary Joe Kinne. Mr. Robertson earlier pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm on the school grounds and was sentenced to 10 years on that count. The prison terms will be served concurrently.
Mr. Robertson, a heating and air conditioning repairman, shot Mr. Kinne in April. The coach was critically injured but has since recovered and is on the coaching staff of Baylor University.
Mr. Robertson's son played on Canton's freshman football team.
The coach testified last week that Mr. Robertson passed by his office and called out to him. He said he walked out into the hall and Mr. Robertson shot him.
The jury rejected a charge of aggravated assault on a public servant in favor of the lesser charge.
CANTON, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) – A man convicted of shooting his son's high school football coach was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum 20 years in prison.
A Van Zandt County jury on Monday convicted Jeff Doyal Robertson of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of then-Canton football coach Gary Joe Kinne. Mr. Robertson earlier pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm on the school grounds and was sentenced to 10 years on that count. The prison terms will be served concurrently.
Mr. Robertson, a heating and air conditioning repairman, shot Mr. Kinne in April. The coach was critically injured but has since recovered and is on the coaching staff of Baylor University.
Mr. Robertson's son played on Canton's freshman football team.
The coach testified last week that Mr. Robertson passed by his office and called out to him. He said he walked out into the hall and Mr. Robertson shot him.
The jury rejected a charge of aggravated assault on a public servant in favor of the lesser charge.
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Man pleads guilty to slaying of girl, 15
He faces up to life in prison for killing teen he met on chat line
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas – A man accused of killing a 15-year-old Arlington girl he met through a chat room pleaded guilty Wednesday – the same day he was to go on trial.
Ronald Michael Hill, 33, could face up to life in prison for the death of Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.
The girl was killed last March 15. Jurors are hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial before state District Judge George Gallagher.
Mr. Hill sat for a few minutes of testimony Wednesday but was allowed to leave the courtroom.
"He is noticeably absent," said his attorney, Edwin Youngblood, who said Mr. Hill saw the jury when the trial began and decided to plead guilty.
Ingrid was found dead at her home in South Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors said Mr. Hill killed the 15-year-old girl after she told him she was pregnant. The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals – a singles chat line, police said.
Jurors were shown a video of Mr. Hill entering a Walgreen's store near Ingrid's house where he purchased a pregnancy test and condoms.
Richard Householder, senior risk manager for First Medium Group, which owns Quest Personals, testified that Mr. Hill became a customer in 2003.
Records from the Toronto company show that Mr. Hill spent about $2,500 to look at ads and talk live to other browsers.
The company charges men to use the service, but it's free for women, Mr. Householder said. Quest Personals attempts to keep those under 18 from entering chat rooms, he said.
"We don't believe minors should be using our service," Mr. Householder said.
Ingrid, he said, first used the system in November 2004 – four months before she was slain.
Testimony resumes today.
He faces up to life in prison for killing teen he met on chat line
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas – A man accused of killing a 15-year-old Arlington girl he met through a chat room pleaded guilty Wednesday – the same day he was to go on trial.
Ronald Michael Hill, 33, could face up to life in prison for the death of Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.
The girl was killed last March 15. Jurors are hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial before state District Judge George Gallagher.
Mr. Hill sat for a few minutes of testimony Wednesday but was allowed to leave the courtroom.
"He is noticeably absent," said his attorney, Edwin Youngblood, who said Mr. Hill saw the jury when the trial began and decided to plead guilty.
Ingrid was found dead at her home in South Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors said Mr. Hill killed the 15-year-old girl after she told him she was pregnant. The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals – a singles chat line, police said.
Jurors were shown a video of Mr. Hill entering a Walgreen's store near Ingrid's house where he purchased a pregnancy test and condoms.
Richard Householder, senior risk manager for First Medium Group, which owns Quest Personals, testified that Mr. Hill became a customer in 2003.
Records from the Toronto company show that Mr. Hill spent about $2,500 to look at ads and talk live to other browsers.
The company charges men to use the service, but it's free for women, Mr. Householder said. Quest Personals attempts to keep those under 18 from entering chat rooms, he said.
"We don't believe minors should be using our service," Mr. Householder said.
Ingrid, he said, first used the system in November 2004 – four months before she was slain.
Testimony resumes today.
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