Relatives find body of missing woman
CORSICANA, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Authorities said they do not suspect foul play after the discovery of the body of a 77-year-old woman whose car was found abandoned and stuck on a muddy road.
The body of Iris Owens was found Tuesday morning by relatives searching for her on their four-wheelers, according to Navarro County Sheriff Les Cotten.
Family members said Owens suffered from short-term memory loss.
Cotten said Owens was found, with her purse and other belongings, just east of her car. It appeared she wandered there after her car got stuck, he said.
Owens was reported missing Saturday. Family members posted fliers around town Monday and discounted Owens' dementia as the reason for the disappearance.
News from the Lone Star State
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Officials: 2 stole IDs, took state for ride
Men accused of creating bogus firm, raking in unemployment checks
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Federal authorities say two identity thieves did something most people can't – they got rich off Texas' unemployment system.
But the wealth didn't last.
The two local men are accused of offering jobs with a nonexistent janitorial company, stealing identities from the applicants and using the data to file false claims with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Federal authorities say Ismael Lozano and Rogaciano Herrera duped about 200 people, most of them Hispanic immigrants. The alleged scheme cost the state at least $325,000 in false unemployment claims, according to federal court records.
"It's really pathetic that somebody would take advantage of people in the U.S., however illegally, who were trying to make an honest living," said Amanda McMurrey, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigated the case.
A grand jury in Dallas this month indicted Mr. Lozano, 28, of Carrollton and Mr. Herrera, 31, of Coppell on federal conspiracy, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Both men, immigrants who are in the country illegally, are being held without bail pending trial. Their court-appointed attorneys declined to comment or didn't return calls.
The scam in which the men are accused, which lasted from July 2002 to February, targeted immigrants eager for work, court records show.
Mr. Lozano and Mr. Herrera orchestrated the fraud, authorities say, by approaching immigrants such as Rosendo Meza, 40, of Garland, who supported two children in Mexico by washing cars at an Avis rental shop in Addison.
Mr. Meza gave Mr. Lozano personal information, such as a Social Security number and his work history, to apply for what he hoped would become a second job.
There was no job, authorities say, but Mr. Lozano still had Mr. Meza's personal information.
Not long after, the Texas Workforce Commission received what was later determined to be a false unemployment claim in Mr. Meza's name.
Before recognizing the fraud, the commission paid about $1,600 from November to January for the false claim.
Those checks were mailed to Carrollton and deposited in Mr. Lozano's bank account, according to court records.
Mr. Meza – who has moved back to Mexico – felt betrayed and angry, he told a former boss at the rental shop.
"The guy made it sound like it was a good job, that he could make some money cleaning at night and continue working here," Peter Costa said. "He [Mr. Meza] was just surprised and worried because he didn't have anything to do with it."
The scheme unraveled in September, when the commission called postal inspectors and the Department of Labor about the allegedly fraudulent claims. A commission spokesman declined to comment about the case, saying only that the agency vigorously seeks to combat fraud.
Mr. Lozano and Mr. Herrera were arrested Feb. 8, and federal authorities later searched their homes.
By then, investigators had discovered that many of the fraudulent claims caused checks to be sent to a post office box rented by Mr. Lozano. Other checks deposited in Mr. Lozano's bank account were first mailed to another post office box controlled by Mr. Herrera, records show.
Mr. Meza told U.S. Postal Inspector Adrian Gonzalez, who handled the case, that Mr. Lozano's job offer seemed legitimate. He even told Mr. Meza that the job might require a drug-screen test, according to court records.
Another applicant, who couldn't be reached for comment, told investigators that he also asked Mr. Herrera about work for his mother. Mr. Herrera replied that he didn't hire women because the work was too strenuous, court records show.
The men made at least 200 fraudulent claims, according to court records, by using a similar pitch.
"Wherever there's a vulnerable section of society like that, there's always going to be someone who tries to take advantage," Inspector McMurrey said.
Men accused of creating bogus firm, raking in unemployment checks
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Federal authorities say two identity thieves did something most people can't – they got rich off Texas' unemployment system.
But the wealth didn't last.
The two local men are accused of offering jobs with a nonexistent janitorial company, stealing identities from the applicants and using the data to file false claims with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Federal authorities say Ismael Lozano and Rogaciano Herrera duped about 200 people, most of them Hispanic immigrants. The alleged scheme cost the state at least $325,000 in false unemployment claims, according to federal court records.
"It's really pathetic that somebody would take advantage of people in the U.S., however illegally, who were trying to make an honest living," said Amanda McMurrey, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigated the case.
A grand jury in Dallas this month indicted Mr. Lozano, 28, of Carrollton and Mr. Herrera, 31, of Coppell on federal conspiracy, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Both men, immigrants who are in the country illegally, are being held without bail pending trial. Their court-appointed attorneys declined to comment or didn't return calls.
The scam in which the men are accused, which lasted from July 2002 to February, targeted immigrants eager for work, court records show.
Mr. Lozano and Mr. Herrera orchestrated the fraud, authorities say, by approaching immigrants such as Rosendo Meza, 40, of Garland, who supported two children in Mexico by washing cars at an Avis rental shop in Addison.
Mr. Meza gave Mr. Lozano personal information, such as a Social Security number and his work history, to apply for what he hoped would become a second job.
There was no job, authorities say, but Mr. Lozano still had Mr. Meza's personal information.
Not long after, the Texas Workforce Commission received what was later determined to be a false unemployment claim in Mr. Meza's name.
Before recognizing the fraud, the commission paid about $1,600 from November to January for the false claim.
Those checks were mailed to Carrollton and deposited in Mr. Lozano's bank account, according to court records.
Mr. Meza – who has moved back to Mexico – felt betrayed and angry, he told a former boss at the rental shop.
"The guy made it sound like it was a good job, that he could make some money cleaning at night and continue working here," Peter Costa said. "He [Mr. Meza] was just surprised and worried because he didn't have anything to do with it."
The scheme unraveled in September, when the commission called postal inspectors and the Department of Labor about the allegedly fraudulent claims. A commission spokesman declined to comment about the case, saying only that the agency vigorously seeks to combat fraud.
Mr. Lozano and Mr. Herrera were arrested Feb. 8, and federal authorities later searched their homes.
By then, investigators had discovered that many of the fraudulent claims caused checks to be sent to a post office box rented by Mr. Lozano. Other checks deposited in Mr. Lozano's bank account were first mailed to another post office box controlled by Mr. Herrera, records show.
Mr. Meza told U.S. Postal Inspector Adrian Gonzalez, who handled the case, that Mr. Lozano's job offer seemed legitimate. He even told Mr. Meza that the job might require a drug-screen test, according to court records.
Another applicant, who couldn't be reached for comment, told investigators that he also asked Mr. Herrera about work for his mother. Mr. Herrera replied that he didn't hire women because the work was too strenuous, court records show.
The men made at least 200 fraudulent claims, according to court records, by using a similar pitch.
"Wherever there's a vulnerable section of society like that, there's always going to be someone who tries to take advantage," Inspector McMurrey said.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
DISD models dress code plan
Proposal would ban jeans, sweats, logos of pro or college teams
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Blue jeans, sweats and sagging pants are out. Khaki and navy blue pants are in under a proposed dress code policy being considered by Dallas trustees.
The Dallas Independent School District boardroom turned into a fashion runway Tuesday during a policy meeting, complete with models and music. A handful of students modeled what could be standard wear in all district schools beginning next fall: a mixture of khaki and navy pants and skirts with white shirts.
Interim Superintendent Larry Groppel said he feels strongly that the new policy has the potential to improve school discipline.
"I'm not saying it's a magic potion," Dr. Groppel said. "But I think it has potential to assist with order in and on our campuses."
Trustees plan to vote on the policy at the end of this month.
The board appeared split on the issue at Tuesday's meeting, with some trustees voicing concern about how much the proposed plan could cost.
Students on free or reduced-price lunches would be entitled to one free uniform (a shirt and slacks), which for 123,000 qualifying kids amounts to about $3.8 million.
The money for the uniforms could come from federal and local funds, according to the proposed policy. Dr. Groppel also said money from donations is possible.
Trustee Hollis Brashear wondered whether one free uniform is enough for a student.
"I don't know how you get by with one uniform," Mr. Brashear said.
Trustee Jack Lowe is concerned that students in DISD schools who wear uniforms, a little more than half of 219 campuses, also may want to receive free uniforms under the new policy.
"It strikes me that we might have a pretty big bill showing up on our doorstep," Mr. Lowe said.
Trustee Ron Price said some high school students have said their biggest complaint with the proposed policy is not getting to wear blue jeans. He's also concerned that the dissent could keep some kids away from school.
"Kids will find any reason to drop out," Mr. Price said.
But board president Lois Parrott said high-priced designer jeans create competition among students.
"The blue jeans are the things that are causing trouble," Dr. Parrott said.
DISD student Niecee Cornute winced when she heard about the proposed dress policy.
"I personally, and everyone else I know, have a problem with it," said the 15-year-old student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. "Uniforms will cut down on the way you express yourself."
Schools would be able to deviate from the standard dress with the permission of the school board. For example, one of the student models at Tuesday's meeting wore a yellow shirt with green pants.
Twelfth-grade students would have the option of wearing white shirts or a shirt color designated by the school. And principals would be able to designate one day per week as a non-school-uniform day to allow students to participate in spirit-type activities.
The proposed policy includes rules such as students only being able to wear athletic shoes in basic black or white with the shoestrings the color of the shoes. Any insignia on outerwear that is not related to the school or DISD would be prohibited, including professional sports teams and college logos.
Students who violated the policy would be given the opportunity to correct the problem at school. If they did not comply, they could be assigned to in-school suspension for the rest of the day or until the problem was corrected. More serious disciplinary action would be taken against repeat offenders.
The parents of students with a religious or philosophical conflict with the dress code would need to object in writing. Trustees would determine whether the objection is valid.
Parents in the district overwhelmingly approved of school uniforms in two surveys in November.
Denise Cornute, Niecee's mother, said a uniform policy would definitely simplify things for parents – and it would cut out kids competing to wear the latest styles.
"Every kid wants to fit in," Ms. Cornute said. "But a lot of parents can't afford it."
Proposal would ban jeans, sweats, logos of pro or college teams
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Blue jeans, sweats and sagging pants are out. Khaki and navy blue pants are in under a proposed dress code policy being considered by Dallas trustees.
The Dallas Independent School District boardroom turned into a fashion runway Tuesday during a policy meeting, complete with models and music. A handful of students modeled what could be standard wear in all district schools beginning next fall: a mixture of khaki and navy pants and skirts with white shirts.
Interim Superintendent Larry Groppel said he feels strongly that the new policy has the potential to improve school discipline.
"I'm not saying it's a magic potion," Dr. Groppel said. "But I think it has potential to assist with order in and on our campuses."
Trustees plan to vote on the policy at the end of this month.
The board appeared split on the issue at Tuesday's meeting, with some trustees voicing concern about how much the proposed plan could cost.
Students on free or reduced-price lunches would be entitled to one free uniform (a shirt and slacks), which for 123,000 qualifying kids amounts to about $3.8 million.
The money for the uniforms could come from federal and local funds, according to the proposed policy. Dr. Groppel also said money from donations is possible.
Trustee Hollis Brashear wondered whether one free uniform is enough for a student.
"I don't know how you get by with one uniform," Mr. Brashear said.
Trustee Jack Lowe is concerned that students in DISD schools who wear uniforms, a little more than half of 219 campuses, also may want to receive free uniforms under the new policy.
"It strikes me that we might have a pretty big bill showing up on our doorstep," Mr. Lowe said.
Trustee Ron Price said some high school students have said their biggest complaint with the proposed policy is not getting to wear blue jeans. He's also concerned that the dissent could keep some kids away from school.
"Kids will find any reason to drop out," Mr. Price said.
But board president Lois Parrott said high-priced designer jeans create competition among students.
"The blue jeans are the things that are causing trouble," Dr. Parrott said.
DISD student Niecee Cornute winced when she heard about the proposed dress policy.
"I personally, and everyone else I know, have a problem with it," said the 15-year-old student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. "Uniforms will cut down on the way you express yourself."
Schools would be able to deviate from the standard dress with the permission of the school board. For example, one of the student models at Tuesday's meeting wore a yellow shirt with green pants.
Twelfth-grade students would have the option of wearing white shirts or a shirt color designated by the school. And principals would be able to designate one day per week as a non-school-uniform day to allow students to participate in spirit-type activities.
The proposed policy includes rules such as students only being able to wear athletic shoes in basic black or white with the shoestrings the color of the shoes. Any insignia on outerwear that is not related to the school or DISD would be prohibited, including professional sports teams and college logos.
Students who violated the policy would be given the opportunity to correct the problem at school. If they did not comply, they could be assigned to in-school suspension for the rest of the day or until the problem was corrected. More serious disciplinary action would be taken against repeat offenders.
The parents of students with a religious or philosophical conflict with the dress code would need to object in writing. Trustees would determine whether the objection is valid.
Parents in the district overwhelmingly approved of school uniforms in two surveys in November.
Denise Cornute, Niecee's mother, said a uniform policy would definitely simplify things for parents – and it would cut out kids competing to wear the latest styles.
"Every kid wants to fit in," Ms. Cornute said. "But a lot of parents can't afford it."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Hit man executed for role in Dallas case
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) -- An apologetic former auto insurance appraiser who authorities said collected $1,500 to kill a Dallas-area physician's wife more than two decades ago was executed Tuesday evening.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, George Anderson Hopper turned toward four members of his victim's family, including the son who discovered his mother's body, and said he was sorry.
"I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. The things I did changed so many lives. I can't take it back. It was an atrocity. I am sorry. I beg your forgiveness. I know I am not worthy of it," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Then he turned his head toward a second window, where his parents were among those watching. He told them he loved them and thanked them "for everything."
Hopper, 49, said a brief prayer, which his mother repeated with him. He gasped a couple of times as the lethal drugs took effect. Eight minutes later at 6:22 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
Hopper was condemned for being the hit man in a complicated scheme initiated by a woman bitter because her soon-to-be ex-husband was dating the murder victim.
Rozanne Gailiunas, 33, was killed in the October 1983 attack at her home in the Dallas suburb of Richardson.
She had been raped, choked with pantyhose, shot twice in the head, had tissue jammed down her throat and was tied naked to a four-poster bed. Her then 4-year-old son found her unconscious. She died two days later.
It was years, however, before police could unravel the case, which became one of the most intricate and complex ever in Dallas County and took authorities to Canada, Mexico and Europe.
"Our family is certainly looking forward to closing this chapter," said Peter Gailiunas, whose wife was killed.
Gailiunas was there but did not witness the execution with his son, now 25.
Hopper's execution was the fourth this year in Texas.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop the punishment. In late appeals, Hopper's lawyers had argued his confession was obtained improperly because detectives continued questioning him after he asked to be returned to his jail cell to think about what he wanted to do. Attorneys also contended Hopper, known to friends as "Andy," had poor legal help in the early portions of his case.
Hopper was one of about a half-dozen people convicted of charges related to the scheme authorities said was hatched by Dallas socialite Joy Davis Aylor, who fled the country just before her own murder trial. She was arrested in France years later and eventually was returned to Texas where she was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Hopper had posed as a flower delivery man to get into his victim's house.
"It was just such a cunning murder plan," said Dan Hagood, who prosecuted both Hopper and Aylor.
He described Hopper as "a fellow who looks like the boy next door, ... one of those you wouldn't have a sense of danger."
Hopper had no previous prison record but had been arrested in 1976 in Houston for indecent exposure and in 1984 for theft related to a pickpocket incident at a Richardson shopping mall. When initially questioned by police about the Gailiunas slaying, he fled and eluded detectives for six months.
Prosecutors said Aylor wanted Rozanne Gailiunas dead because the former Richardson nurse was dating and planned to marry Aylor's estranged husband. Gailiunas and her husband were separated, as were Aylor and her husband, a Dallas home builder.
Aylor fled to Canada with $200,000 and a new lover, a Dallas attorney, on the eve of her 1990 murder trial. After the lawyer was arrested in remote western Canada on a drug charge, Aylor disappeared to France.
For two years she assumed a false identity as Elizabeth Sharp, living in a villa outside Nice. She was exposed after a rental car she was driving was involved in a minor traffic accident.
As part of their agreement with French authorities to return her to Texas, prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty in her case.
Authorities said Aylor had contacted her brother-in-law, a pest control contractor, and put up $5,000 to arrange the slaying. He contacted an auto mechanic who hired Hopper. The men all got a piece of the money. Aylor's sister, the pest control contractor's wife, helped police by recording conversations implicating Aylor in the plot.
Two more executions are set for Texas over the next two weeks.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) -- An apologetic former auto insurance appraiser who authorities said collected $1,500 to kill a Dallas-area physician's wife more than two decades ago was executed Tuesday evening.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, George Anderson Hopper turned toward four members of his victim's family, including the son who discovered his mother's body, and said he was sorry.
"I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. The things I did changed so many lives. I can't take it back. It was an atrocity. I am sorry. I beg your forgiveness. I know I am not worthy of it," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Then he turned his head toward a second window, where his parents were among those watching. He told them he loved them and thanked them "for everything."
Hopper, 49, said a brief prayer, which his mother repeated with him. He gasped a couple of times as the lethal drugs took effect. Eight minutes later at 6:22 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
Hopper was condemned for being the hit man in a complicated scheme initiated by a woman bitter because her soon-to-be ex-husband was dating the murder victim.
Rozanne Gailiunas, 33, was killed in the October 1983 attack at her home in the Dallas suburb of Richardson.
She had been raped, choked with pantyhose, shot twice in the head, had tissue jammed down her throat and was tied naked to a four-poster bed. Her then 4-year-old son found her unconscious. She died two days later.
It was years, however, before police could unravel the case, which became one of the most intricate and complex ever in Dallas County and took authorities to Canada, Mexico and Europe.
"Our family is certainly looking forward to closing this chapter," said Peter Gailiunas, whose wife was killed.
Gailiunas was there but did not witness the execution with his son, now 25.
Hopper's execution was the fourth this year in Texas.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop the punishment. In late appeals, Hopper's lawyers had argued his confession was obtained improperly because detectives continued questioning him after he asked to be returned to his jail cell to think about what he wanted to do. Attorneys also contended Hopper, known to friends as "Andy," had poor legal help in the early portions of his case.
Hopper was one of about a half-dozen people convicted of charges related to the scheme authorities said was hatched by Dallas socialite Joy Davis Aylor, who fled the country just before her own murder trial. She was arrested in France years later and eventually was returned to Texas where she was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Hopper had posed as a flower delivery man to get into his victim's house.
"It was just such a cunning murder plan," said Dan Hagood, who prosecuted both Hopper and Aylor.
He described Hopper as "a fellow who looks like the boy next door, ... one of those you wouldn't have a sense of danger."
Hopper had no previous prison record but had been arrested in 1976 in Houston for indecent exposure and in 1984 for theft related to a pickpocket incident at a Richardson shopping mall. When initially questioned by police about the Gailiunas slaying, he fled and eluded detectives for six months.
Prosecutors said Aylor wanted Rozanne Gailiunas dead because the former Richardson nurse was dating and planned to marry Aylor's estranged husband. Gailiunas and her husband were separated, as were Aylor and her husband, a Dallas home builder.
Aylor fled to Canada with $200,000 and a new lover, a Dallas attorney, on the eve of her 1990 murder trial. After the lawyer was arrested in remote western Canada on a drug charge, Aylor disappeared to France.
For two years she assumed a false identity as Elizabeth Sharp, living in a villa outside Nice. She was exposed after a rental car she was driving was involved in a minor traffic accident.
As part of their agreement with French authorities to return her to Texas, prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty in her case.
Authorities said Aylor had contacted her brother-in-law, a pest control contractor, and put up $5,000 to arrange the slaying. He contacted an auto mechanic who hired Hopper. The men all got a piece of the money. Aylor's sister, the pest control contractor's wife, helped police by recording conversations implicating Aylor in the plot.
Two more executions are set for Texas over the next two weeks.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
RadioShack closing Fort Worth factory
FORT WORTH, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. will eliminate 69 domestic jobs as it shuts down its Fort Worth wire and cable plant in June and moves the work to China, the company said this week.
Employees who stay until the June 24 closing date will receive severance packages, company spokeswoman Kay Jackson said.
RadioShack began consolidating its manufacturing businesses two years ago, closing a wire and cable facility in Fort Worth and a sign-making operation in Arlington after reviewing expenses at each department.
The retailer's Fort Worth operations still include a distribution center, along with a new downtown headquarters with 2,400 corporate employees. RadioShack's facility in China, where manufacturing costs are far lower, makes a variety of products for RadioShack stores, including cables, radios and toy cars.
RadioShack's shares fell 41 cents, or 1.4 percent, to close at $28.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.
FORT WORTH, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. will eliminate 69 domestic jobs as it shuts down its Fort Worth wire and cable plant in June and moves the work to China, the company said this week.
Employees who stay until the June 24 closing date will receive severance packages, company spokeswoman Kay Jackson said.
RadioShack began consolidating its manufacturing businesses two years ago, closing a wire and cable facility in Fort Worth and a sign-making operation in Arlington after reviewing expenses at each department.
The retailer's Fort Worth operations still include a distribution center, along with a new downtown headquarters with 2,400 corporate employees. RadioShack's facility in China, where manufacturing costs are far lower, makes a variety of products for RadioShack stores, including cables, radios and toy cars.
RadioShack's shares fell 41 cents, or 1.4 percent, to close at $28.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
2 plead guilty in attack on disabled man
By NANCY BARR CANSON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
LINDEN, Texas – Two of four defendants facing charges of beating a mentally disabled black man 1 ½ years ago pleaded guilty, and one of them testified Tuesday for the prosecution in the trial of a third defendant.
Dallas Chadwick Stone, 19, told a jury that the man on trial, Christopher Colt Amox, 22, struck and knocked Billy Ray Johnson, 44, unconscious during a "pasture party" at which the men, who had been drinking heavily, were making fun of Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Amox "took a swing at Mr. Johnson and missed," then took another swing and hit him in the face, Mr. Stone testified. Mr. Johnson fell to the ground, unconscious, Mr. Stone testified.
Mr. Stone and John Wesley Owens, 20, at whose house the party was being held Sept. 28, 2003, pleaded guilty late Monday to charges of injury to a disabled person by omission – dumping Mr. Johnson in a ditch and not seeking medical help for the severely injured man.
The men, along with a fourth man, James Cory Hicks, 25, a former jailer for the Cass County Sheriff's Office, were indicted last year on charges of intentionally injuring a mentally disabled person, a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison. They were also charged with aggravated assault "with bias."
The charge Mr. Stone and Mr. Owens pleaded to is a third-degree felony punishable by a prison sentence of two to 10 years. No sentencing date was set.
Mr. Hicks' trial was separated from Mr. Amox's.
Other people who were at the party testified Tuesday that they left early because they were uncomfortable that Mr. Johnson was being ridiculed by the men.
"They were making fun of him," said Erica Hudson, 19.
Mr. Stone said the beating occurred after Mr. Amox and Mr. Johnson began arguing over music: country vs. rap.
Another witness, Lacey Dorgan, said that after Mr. Johnson had been knocked unconscious, it was Mr. Hicks who argued against calling authorities. He feared he would lose his job, she said.
She said Mr. Amox washed Mr. Johnson's blood from his truck at a car wash after leaving him in the ditch.
The trial was expected to continue through this week.
Nancy Barr Canson is a freelance writer based in East Texas.
By NANCY BARR CANSON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
LINDEN, Texas – Two of four defendants facing charges of beating a mentally disabled black man 1 ½ years ago pleaded guilty, and one of them testified Tuesday for the prosecution in the trial of a third defendant.
Dallas Chadwick Stone, 19, told a jury that the man on trial, Christopher Colt Amox, 22, struck and knocked Billy Ray Johnson, 44, unconscious during a "pasture party" at which the men, who had been drinking heavily, were making fun of Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Amox "took a swing at Mr. Johnson and missed," then took another swing and hit him in the face, Mr. Stone testified. Mr. Johnson fell to the ground, unconscious, Mr. Stone testified.
Mr. Stone and John Wesley Owens, 20, at whose house the party was being held Sept. 28, 2003, pleaded guilty late Monday to charges of injury to a disabled person by omission – dumping Mr. Johnson in a ditch and not seeking medical help for the severely injured man.
The men, along with a fourth man, James Cory Hicks, 25, a former jailer for the Cass County Sheriff's Office, were indicted last year on charges of intentionally injuring a mentally disabled person, a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison. They were also charged with aggravated assault "with bias."
The charge Mr. Stone and Mr. Owens pleaded to is a third-degree felony punishable by a prison sentence of two to 10 years. No sentencing date was set.
Mr. Hicks' trial was separated from Mr. Amox's.
Other people who were at the party testified Tuesday that they left early because they were uncomfortable that Mr. Johnson was being ridiculed by the men.
"They were making fun of him," said Erica Hudson, 19.
Mr. Stone said the beating occurred after Mr. Amox and Mr. Johnson began arguing over music: country vs. rap.
Another witness, Lacey Dorgan, said that after Mr. Johnson had been knocked unconscious, it was Mr. Hicks who argued against calling authorities. He feared he would lose his job, she said.
She said Mr. Amox washed Mr. Johnson's blood from his truck at a car wash after leaving him in the ditch.
The trial was expected to continue through this week.
Nancy Barr Canson is a freelance writer based in East Texas.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Fire destroys Malakoff grade school
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
MALAKOFF, Texas — Fire swept through an elementary school in Malakoff early Wednesday, causing an estimated $5 million in damage and leaving educators scrambling to find new classrooms for the Henderson County community's youngest students.
The first alarm at Malakoff Elementary School sounded about 3:30 a.m., and firefighters battled the flames into the morning hours.
"I'm in shock that this has happened. I was kind of devastated aboout it," said teacher Debby Kirkland. "Glad the kids weren't here; glad they were at home."
School officials said they did not know what started the fire in the building's newest wing which dates to 1972. The older part of the school, built in the 1930s, is still standing.
"We're such a small town. Things like this just don't happen here," said 3rd grade teacher Christi Jackson. "You don't expect this. It's just devastation to me."
There were no reports of injuries. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Arson has not been ruled out.
Classes at the school, which serves about 500 students, were canceled on Wednesday. Officials scheduled a meeting for Wednesday afternoon to make plans. An emergency school board meeting was set for 7 p.m.
One of the biggest challenges facing educators is keeping students fed. "They're going to have to bus them from one place to the other to provide their meals, because the main cafeteria was in this building," said Henderson County Fire Marshal Bob Calder.
Malakoff is a community of 2,000 in Henderson County located 60 miles southeast of Dallas.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
MALAKOFF, Texas — Fire swept through an elementary school in Malakoff early Wednesday, causing an estimated $5 million in damage and leaving educators scrambling to find new classrooms for the Henderson County community's youngest students.
The first alarm at Malakoff Elementary School sounded about 3:30 a.m., and firefighters battled the flames into the morning hours.
"I'm in shock that this has happened. I was kind of devastated aboout it," said teacher Debby Kirkland. "Glad the kids weren't here; glad they were at home."
School officials said they did not know what started the fire in the building's newest wing which dates to 1972. The older part of the school, built in the 1930s, is still standing.
"We're such a small town. Things like this just don't happen here," said 3rd grade teacher Christi Jackson. "You don't expect this. It's just devastation to me."
There were no reports of injuries. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Arson has not been ruled out.
Classes at the school, which serves about 500 students, were canceled on Wednesday. Officials scheduled a meeting for Wednesday afternoon to make plans. An emergency school board meeting was set for 7 p.m.
One of the biggest challenges facing educators is keeping students fed. "They're going to have to bus them from one place to the other to provide their meals, because the main cafeteria was in this building," said Henderson County Fire Marshal Bob Calder.
Malakoff is a community of 2,000 in Henderson County located 60 miles southeast of Dallas.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Scooters give Sundance Square security new way to get around
By Paul Bourgeois, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Sundance Square is scooting into the future with a pair of Segway Human Transporters, two-wheeled motorized contraptions that provide security with high visibility and maneuverability in a crowd.
The visibility works two ways.
"It puts you up above the crowd," said Paul Combs, a security supervisor on the day shift. He said the Segway will be particularly useful amid the crowds during events like the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival, which is coming up in April.
It's also an attention-getter that makes security easier to see.
Combs said he's often stopped by visitors who want to know what it is and how fast it will go.
"Lots of people stop and want their picture taken with them," said Tracy Gilmour, a spokeswoman for Sundance Square Management. "It's a good public relations thing as well."
Each unit costs about $5,000. Its top speed is only about 12 mph, but Combs said the Segway is particularly useful on patrols of the parking garages.
By Paul Bourgeois, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - Sundance Square is scooting into the future with a pair of Segway Human Transporters, two-wheeled motorized contraptions that provide security with high visibility and maneuverability in a crowd.
The visibility works two ways.
"It puts you up above the crowd," said Paul Combs, a security supervisor on the day shift. He said the Segway will be particularly useful amid the crowds during events like the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival, which is coming up in April.
It's also an attention-getter that makes security easier to see.
Combs said he's often stopped by visitors who want to know what it is and how fast it will go.
"Lots of people stop and want their picture taken with them," said Tracy Gilmour, a spokeswoman for Sundance Square Management. "It's a good public relations thing as well."
Each unit costs about $5,000. Its top speed is only about 12 mph, but Combs said the Segway is particularly useful on patrols of the parking garages.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Retailer Issues Warning To Shoe Shoppers
Credit Card Information Could Be In Hands Of Thieves
FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A warning has been issued for North Texas shoe shoppers as discount retailer DSW Shoe Warehouse says thousands of customers' credit card information could be in the hands of thieves.
People are attracted to DSW because it offers quality name brand shoes at reduced prices, but that could end up costing victims in other ways.
DSW's parent company, Retail Ventures, just issued the warning that thieves may have stolen credit card information for thousands of customers by hacking into the company's corporate database.
It only affects credit card customers who used their cards the past three months at more than 100 stores nationwide. There are at least eight locations in North Texas.
A company spokeswoman is warning people to watch their credit card statements carefully.
"It's part of being in this modern society, you know, with using plastic it's unfortunate ... I just take risks every time I use my debit card because all the money I have is in my account," customer Rhonda Thompson said.
The warning actually came from a credit card company looking out for its customers. Someone there noticed a lot of unusual activity and notified DSW.
Credit Card Information Could Be In Hands Of Thieves
FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A warning has been issued for North Texas shoe shoppers as discount retailer DSW Shoe Warehouse says thousands of customers' credit card information could be in the hands of thieves.
People are attracted to DSW because it offers quality name brand shoes at reduced prices, but that could end up costing victims in other ways.
DSW's parent company, Retail Ventures, just issued the warning that thieves may have stolen credit card information for thousands of customers by hacking into the company's corporate database.
It only affects credit card customers who used their cards the past three months at more than 100 stores nationwide. There are at least eight locations in North Texas.
A company spokeswoman is warning people to watch their credit card statements carefully.
"It's part of being in this modern society, you know, with using plastic it's unfortunate ... I just take risks every time I use my debit card because all the money I have is in my account," customer Rhonda Thompson said.
The warning actually came from a credit card company looking out for its customers. Someone there noticed a lot of unusual activity and notified DSW.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Suspected Robbers Lead Police On High-Speed Chase
RICE, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Robbery suspects fled from Dallas police Tuesday and ultimately led officers from five enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase through the southern sector of Dallas until it ended in Navarro County, about 45 miles south of Dallas.
Two people in the fleeing car reached speeds up to 90 mph, according to NBC 5's Chopper 5. The car traveled from South Dallas on Interstate 45, through Ellis County, to Navarro County, where it eventually was stopped by officers near Rice.
The car weaved through traffic, narrowly avoiding a tractor-trailer truck at one point and other vehicles. Officers from the Dallas Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Ellis County Sheriff's Department, Ferris Police Department and Navarro County Sheriff's Department were reportedly involved with the chase, according to NBC 5.
The suspects reportedly drove a stolen car. A state trooper could be seen holding a firearm while leaning out of the passenger side window of a DPS car. NBC 5's Chopper 5 reported officers had discussed shooting out the fleeing driver's tires.
The chase lasted more than an hour before officers were able to deflate the car's tires with spikes.
After the car came to a stop, officers from multiple agencies surrounded the suspects. With weapons drawn, officers broke out the driver's and passenger's side windows and pulled the two people out of the broken windows.
Authorities reported no injures as a result of the chase.
RICE, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Robbery suspects fled from Dallas police Tuesday and ultimately led officers from five enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase through the southern sector of Dallas until it ended in Navarro County, about 45 miles south of Dallas.
Two people in the fleeing car reached speeds up to 90 mph, according to NBC 5's Chopper 5. The car traveled from South Dallas on Interstate 45, through Ellis County, to Navarro County, where it eventually was stopped by officers near Rice.
The car weaved through traffic, narrowly avoiding a tractor-trailer truck at one point and other vehicles. Officers from the Dallas Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Ellis County Sheriff's Department, Ferris Police Department and Navarro County Sheriff's Department were reportedly involved with the chase, according to NBC 5.
The suspects reportedly drove a stolen car. A state trooper could be seen holding a firearm while leaning out of the passenger side window of a DPS car. NBC 5's Chopper 5 reported officers had discussed shooting out the fleeing driver's tires.
The chase lasted more than an hour before officers were able to deflate the car's tires with spikes.
After the car came to a stop, officers from multiple agencies surrounded the suspects. With weapons drawn, officers broke out the driver's and passenger's side windows and pulled the two people out of the broken windows.
Authorities reported no injures as a result of the chase.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Citigroup Moving Jobs To Irving
FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Citigroup will close a credit card call center in Delaware and move hundreds of jobs to Texas and Tennessee.
Company spokeswoman Janis Tarter says the 425 jobs, mostly telephone customer service, are being moved to call centers in Irving, Texas, and Gray, Tenn.
The company's call center in Glasgow, Delaware, will close by the end of October.
FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Citigroup will close a credit card call center in Delaware and move hundreds of jobs to Texas and Tennessee.
Company spokeswoman Janis Tarter says the 425 jobs, mostly telephone customer service, are being moved to call centers in Irving, Texas, and Gray, Tenn.
The company's call center in Glasgow, Delaware, will close by the end of October.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Police: Man Buying Expensive Cars With Fake Checks
DALLAS, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Dallas police are issuing a warning for anyone trying to sell their car. Police say a man is passing counterfeit checks for thousands of dollars on unsuspecting sellers.
Investigators said the man (pictured, left) is contacting sellers of expensive cars out of Auto Trader magazine.
Police said the man bilked a University Park man out of $36,000 by passing a fake check to buy a Corvette.
Victims said the man is at least 6 foot 5 inches tall and more than 300 pounds. He is reported to use several aliases.
"He's a very slick operator. He's always well dressed, well groomed ... keeps a nice, trimmed beard. He's a very large man in stature, very broad shoulders ... always gives employment information such as he works at a health care company in the Metroplex," said Detective Travis Vavra with the University Park Police Department.
Police think the con man has hit at least six times in University Park, Dallas, Carrollton and Double Oak.
Officials warn sellers to go to the bank with any potential buyer to verify the authenticity of a check.
DALLAS, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Dallas police are issuing a warning for anyone trying to sell their car. Police say a man is passing counterfeit checks for thousands of dollars on unsuspecting sellers.
Investigators said the man (pictured, left) is contacting sellers of expensive cars out of Auto Trader magazine.
Police said the man bilked a University Park man out of $36,000 by passing a fake check to buy a Corvette.
Victims said the man is at least 6 foot 5 inches tall and more than 300 pounds. He is reported to use several aliases.
"He's a very slick operator. He's always well dressed, well groomed ... keeps a nice, trimmed beard. He's a very large man in stature, very broad shoulders ... always gives employment information such as he works at a health care company in the Metroplex," said Detective Travis Vavra with the University Park Police Department.
Police think the con man has hit at least six times in University Park, Dallas, Carrollton and Double Oak.
Officials warn sellers to go to the bank with any potential buyer to verify the authenticity of a check.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Jury in re-trial convicts man of rape/slaying
By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- It was a new trial and a different jury. But the outcome was the same.
Clifton Earl Curtis was sentenced to life in prison this week for raping and strangling his aunt in her apartment. The crime occurred almost a decade ago; it was the second time in four years he received life for the crime.
Jurors in state district Judge Everett Young's court deliberated for about an hour Monday before sentencing Curtis, 42, to the maximum for the May 7, 1995, death of Gloria King. They also assessed a $10,000 fine.
The panel had taken 37 minutes to find Curtis guilty of aggravated sexual assault causing serious bodily injury.
"This guy is thoroughly deserving of a life sentence," said prosecutor Bruce Fyfe, who tried the case with Alan Levy. "He was unrepentant until the end. He has brought a lot of misery to a lot of people."
Curtis -- who is also a suspect in a 1997 double slaying of an elderly couple in Fort Worth -- received an automatic life sentence in 2001 after his first conviction in his aunt's death.
That capital murder verdict was overturned. An appellate court ruled that jurors should not have learned during the trial's guilt/innocence phase that Curtis was convicted in 1983 of raping an 82-year-old woman in Louisiana.
At the re-trial, jurors learned about the 1983 conviction only during the punishment phase.
Curtis was arrested in King's murder in 1997, when police investigated two other murders.
Officers had spoken with him and his brother-in-law, Lemonia Ball, on May 7, 1995. They told police they had checked on King and discovered her body in a bedroom, according to court documents, attorneys and testimony.
Ball told police that Curtis had come to his house and asked him to take him to King's house. Curtis and Ball told police that the door opened when they knocked. They entered and found broken glass, hair curlers and blood on the living room floor, they said. They then discovered King's body, they said.
Police questioned Curtis and others but were unable to connect anyone with the murder.
In 1997, homicide Sgt. J.D. Thornton questioned Curtis again after he became a suspect in the killings of his Polytechnic Heights neighbors, Bennie Horn, 85, and Madeline Horn, 76.
Curtis again told police that he had nothing to do with his aunt's slaying. By then, however, DNA procedures had advanced and much smaller samples could be tested, so investigators retrieved evidence from King's rape and tested it against a blood sample provided by Curtis.
They matched.
During the trial, defense attorneys Pete Gilfeather and Larry Reed attacked the credibility of the DNA evidence, which was handled and analyzed by the Fort Worth Police Department now-defunct DNA crime lab. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office has been investigating the lab since April 2003 because of the way some evidence was handled.
By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- It was a new trial and a different jury. But the outcome was the same.
Clifton Earl Curtis was sentenced to life in prison this week for raping and strangling his aunt in her apartment. The crime occurred almost a decade ago; it was the second time in four years he received life for the crime.
Jurors in state district Judge Everett Young's court deliberated for about an hour Monday before sentencing Curtis, 42, to the maximum for the May 7, 1995, death of Gloria King. They also assessed a $10,000 fine.
The panel had taken 37 minutes to find Curtis guilty of aggravated sexual assault causing serious bodily injury.
"This guy is thoroughly deserving of a life sentence," said prosecutor Bruce Fyfe, who tried the case with Alan Levy. "He was unrepentant until the end. He has brought a lot of misery to a lot of people."
Curtis -- who is also a suspect in a 1997 double slaying of an elderly couple in Fort Worth -- received an automatic life sentence in 2001 after his first conviction in his aunt's death.
That capital murder verdict was overturned. An appellate court ruled that jurors should not have learned during the trial's guilt/innocence phase that Curtis was convicted in 1983 of raping an 82-year-old woman in Louisiana.
At the re-trial, jurors learned about the 1983 conviction only during the punishment phase.
Curtis was arrested in King's murder in 1997, when police investigated two other murders.
Officers had spoken with him and his brother-in-law, Lemonia Ball, on May 7, 1995. They told police they had checked on King and discovered her body in a bedroom, according to court documents, attorneys and testimony.
Ball told police that Curtis had come to his house and asked him to take him to King's house. Curtis and Ball told police that the door opened when they knocked. They entered and found broken glass, hair curlers and blood on the living room floor, they said. They then discovered King's body, they said.
Police questioned Curtis and others but were unable to connect anyone with the murder.
In 1997, homicide Sgt. J.D. Thornton questioned Curtis again after he became a suspect in the killings of his Polytechnic Heights neighbors, Bennie Horn, 85, and Madeline Horn, 76.
Curtis again told police that he had nothing to do with his aunt's slaying. By then, however, DNA procedures had advanced and much smaller samples could be tested, so investigators retrieved evidence from King's rape and tested it against a blood sample provided by Curtis.
They matched.
During the trial, defense attorneys Pete Gilfeather and Larry Reed attacked the credibility of the DNA evidence, which was handled and analyzed by the Fort Worth Police Department now-defunct DNA crime lab. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office has been investigating the lab since April 2003 because of the way some evidence was handled.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Armed robbers caught on tape
By Deanna Boyd, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying two men who stole a purse from a parked car in the Fort Worth Stockyards and threatened a parking lot attendant with a knife when he tried to intervene.
The robbery occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Feb. 20 after the victim parked her car in the 100 block of Northwest 24th Street and placed her purse in the trunk, according to a police report.
A parking lot attendant told police he saw a man get out of the passenger seat of a station wagon, break a window of the woman's car and reach in to open the trunk latch. After seeing the man take the woman's purse, the attendant yelled at him to put the purse back, the report stated.
The man pulled out a knife and showed it to the attendant, who immediately backed off, robbery Detective B.K. Morse said. The men fled in the station wagon.
About 30 minutes later, police say surveillance cameras captured the two men using the woman's credit card to buy stereo equipment from a Wal-Mart in White Settlement.
Morse said the station wagon is believed to be a late 70s or early 80s model wood-grain panel sides and either dark brown or burgundy/maroon. The first three numbers of the license plate were 566, he said.
The suspect who took the purse is described a white man in his mid-30s, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot tall and approximately 180 to 225 pounds. He had brown hair, long thin sideburns and a mustache and goatee. He also had very distinguishable marks or burn scars on his left hand, Morse said.
Anyone with information about the men's identities is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (817) 469-TIPS.
By Deanna Boyd, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying two men who stole a purse from a parked car in the Fort Worth Stockyards and threatened a parking lot attendant with a knife when he tried to intervene.
The robbery occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Feb. 20 after the victim parked her car in the 100 block of Northwest 24th Street and placed her purse in the trunk, according to a police report.
A parking lot attendant told police he saw a man get out of the passenger seat of a station wagon, break a window of the woman's car and reach in to open the trunk latch. After seeing the man take the woman's purse, the attendant yelled at him to put the purse back, the report stated.
The man pulled out a knife and showed it to the attendant, who immediately backed off, robbery Detective B.K. Morse said. The men fled in the station wagon.
About 30 minutes later, police say surveillance cameras captured the two men using the woman's credit card to buy stereo equipment from a Wal-Mart in White Settlement.
Morse said the station wagon is believed to be a late 70s or early 80s model wood-grain panel sides and either dark brown or burgundy/maroon. The first three numbers of the license plate were 566, he said.
The suspect who took the purse is described a white man in his mid-30s, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot tall and approximately 180 to 225 pounds. He had brown hair, long thin sideburns and a mustache and goatee. He also had very distinguishable marks or burn scars on his left hand, Morse said.
Anyone with information about the men's identities is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (817) 469-TIPS.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Accomplice in robbery of slain ice cream vendor gets 25 years
By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A 22-year-old Fort Worth man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the robbery and slaying of an ice cream vendor almost two years ago outside an east-side restaurant.
Juwan Foster Love, who was initially charged with capital murder, reached an agreement with prosecutors last week and pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery.
Love, who was represented by Bill Ray of Fort Worth, is the second defendant to be prosecuted in the July 20, 2003, death of James Dutton, 45, who was ambushed and fatally shot in his van moments after walking out of the Texas Style Chicken & Seafood restaurant.
Last year, Brandon Davis, 21, whom prosecutors contend was the gunman, was sentenced to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of capital murder.
Two other men -- James Love, 20, who is Juwan Love's brother, and Clarence Pearson, 20 -- have been charged in the slaying and remain in the Tarrant County Jail.
Prosecutors Terri Pearce and J.D. Granger have maintained that the four men lay in wait as Dutton ordered his food and left the restaurant at 3854 E. Lancaster Ave.
After Dutton got into his ice cream van, they contend, the group surrounded the vehicle and demanded money, and then Davis fatally shot Dutton.
By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A 22-year-old Fort Worth man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the robbery and slaying of an ice cream vendor almost two years ago outside an east-side restaurant.
Juwan Foster Love, who was initially charged with capital murder, reached an agreement with prosecutors last week and pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery.
Love, who was represented by Bill Ray of Fort Worth, is the second defendant to be prosecuted in the July 20, 2003, death of James Dutton, 45, who was ambushed and fatally shot in his van moments after walking out of the Texas Style Chicken & Seafood restaurant.
Last year, Brandon Davis, 21, whom prosecutors contend was the gunman, was sentenced to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of capital murder.
Two other men -- James Love, 20, who is Juwan Love's brother, and Clarence Pearson, 20 -- have been charged in the slaying and remain in the Tarrant County Jail.
Prosecutors Terri Pearce and J.D. Granger have maintained that the four men lay in wait as Dutton ordered his food and left the restaurant at 3854 E. Lancaster Ave.
After Dutton got into his ice cream van, they contend, the group surrounded the vehicle and demanded money, and then Davis fatally shot Dutton.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Call 311 To Report Traffic Light Problems
HOUSTON, Texas (KPRC NBC 2) - Traffic lights are not all created equal. Some change in the blink of an eye, while others seem to stay the same forever. But Houstonians can help change that, Local 2 reported Wednesday.
The city's Traffic Signal Timing Optimization Program is in its second year.
City officials said Houstonians need to provide feedback when lights don't appear to be working properly.
"We developed 311 several years ago for this very purpose," said Wes Johnson, with Houston Public Works.
Johnson said the city wants more Houstonians to call 311 to report problems since traffic lights can easily get out of sync.
"When we have a big thunderstorm go through, it will affect traffic signal lights. When we have construction, it will adversely affect signal lights and even under the most ideal situations, you will have a problem with a mechanical device," Johnson said.
The lights don't have to be downtown, even though that's been the focus for the past two years.
"We're seeing an increase in traffic speed at the peak times by 10 to 20 percent. It's the wisest investment we've ever made," Houston Mayor Bill White said.
Over the next few months, 500 other lights around the city are set to be synchronized.
When drivers call 311 to report a traffic light problem, they should also keep the tracking numberlstewar.
Then, citizens can call back and use the tracking number to get the status of the repair.
For a list of lights scheduled to be reprogrammed, visit http://www.publicworks.cityofhouston.go ... zation.htm.
HOUSTON, Texas (KPRC NBC 2) - Traffic lights are not all created equal. Some change in the blink of an eye, while others seem to stay the same forever. But Houstonians can help change that, Local 2 reported Wednesday.
The city's Traffic Signal Timing Optimization Program is in its second year.
City officials said Houstonians need to provide feedback when lights don't appear to be working properly.
"We developed 311 several years ago for this very purpose," said Wes Johnson, with Houston Public Works.
Johnson said the city wants more Houstonians to call 311 to report problems since traffic lights can easily get out of sync.
"When we have a big thunderstorm go through, it will affect traffic signal lights. When we have construction, it will adversely affect signal lights and even under the most ideal situations, you will have a problem with a mechanical device," Johnson said.
The lights don't have to be downtown, even though that's been the focus for the past two years.
"We're seeing an increase in traffic speed at the peak times by 10 to 20 percent. It's the wisest investment we've ever made," Houston Mayor Bill White said.
Over the next few months, 500 other lights around the city are set to be synchronized.
When drivers call 311 to report a traffic light problem, they should also keep the tracking numberlstewar.
Then, citizens can call back and use the tracking number to get the status of the repair.
For a list of lights scheduled to be reprogrammed, visit http://www.publicworks.cityofhouston.go ... zation.htm.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Deal in place for downtown hotel
By Anna M. Tinsley, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - After months of negotiations, city leaders say they've hammered out the final details for Omni Hotels to build a 600-room luxury hotel downtown -- and construction could start by the end of the year.
For more than seven months, the city and Omni have been negotiating over a privately owned, Texas-themed hotel across from the Fort Worth Convention Center. The plan includes nearly $50 million in public money. The overall cost is projected to be more than $90 million.
"This is going to light up the south end of downtown," Mayor Mike Moncrief said. "It will provide more opportunities to attract larger conventions.
"There are some city incentives, but this will be a privately built hotel," he said. "The city is not getting into the hotel business, nor should it."
The final proposal -- which includes an underground garage and possibly condominiums on top of the hotel -- will be presented publicly during a City Council meeting March 24.
Council members could vote on the deal by March 29, and if they approve, Omni could break ground by the end of the year, officials said.
The plan calls for about $48.5 million in tax rebates and refunds from the city, county and state and $6 million for a city-built, 400-space parking garage.
"We are coming to Fort Worth because we believe it's a great American city and a place we want to do business," said Scott Johnson, Omni's vice president for acquisitions and development. "We're ecstatic about the progress we've made.
"It has been a long road, and we are anxious to kick this project off."
In the works for more than two years, this plan differs from one in 2002 that called for the city to build a hotel with taxpayer money. Public outrage and a petition drive to force the issue before voters quelled that plan.
City leaders say this version is better because the bulk of the public funds would come from hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel.
Johnson said that it could take about two years to build the hotel -- of "four-diamond" quality -- and that it could open in late 2007 or early 2008.
Omni plans to build a 15-to 21-story hotel, with 48,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, a pool and an exercise facility on two blocks of city-owned land west of the convention center.
Omni would lease the site from the city for $10,000 a year for 99 years and could buy the land for $1 million after 10 years. It could sell the hotel after three years of operation, with city approval.
"This hotel is so important for the convention and tourism industry in Fort Worth," said Kirk Slaughter, the city's public events director. "It will really help attract business to the community.
"It is going to be a great addition to Fort Worth."
Public funding
Under the plan, city officials say Omni would receive:
• $29.8 million in city rebates and funding, mainly through hotel and sales taxes collected at the hotel over 10 years. This includes $6 million for a 400-space garage to go under the hotel and be paid for with reserve funds. Previous plans called for an above-ground garage that would have been shared by the city and Omni.
• $16.9 million in state rebates from hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel in its first 10 years.
• $1.8 million in refunded county property taxes generated by the hotel in its first 10 years. No school taxes would be used.
• A 10-year catering contract for convention center events.
In return, Omni would be required to award a portion of its contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses and a share of new jobs to Fort Worth residents. As much as 80 percent of the hotel rooms could be set aside for future conventions.
Johnson said a decision on whether to include condos at the top of the hotel will be made in coming months.
"We're doing our due diligence on that now, studying the market," Johnson said. "We believe that condominiums on top of our hotel would be a great addition. Now we need to figure out if there's a market for it."
Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua said any condos would add to the total $90 million cost and would not receive a tax abatement from the city.
City officials have long said a hotel is needed because, despite a $75 million renovation of the convention center, Fort Worth is losing convention business to other cities.
"We have everything the people of Texas, United States and around the world would want to come and see," Councilman Jim Lane said. "We upgraded the convention center, and now we need a convention center hotel.
"There are good hotels downtown, but not one really dedicated to the convention business," he said. "This hotel will be a great amenity for Fort Worth."
Hurting other hotels?
Not everyone is convinced.
Stan Kennedy, vice president and general manager for the Radisson Plaza Hotel, said he's concerned that a convention center hotel could strip business from other downtown hotels.
"Our concern is, can the existing market take on additional supply without increased demand?" he said. "Short-term, this is going to have a negative effect on all the hotels here.
"It's our hope that long-term, we can fill in with new business."
Omni officials said they believe such fears are unfounded.
"We don't feel that we're going to be picking off business from the current market," said Robert Rowling, owner of TRT Holdings, Omni's parent company. "Whatever we take away, we hope would be more than made up from new business brought to town."
Steve Hollern, a vocal opponent to the 2002 plan, served on a blue-ribbon committee that reviewed the proposal. He maintained through the process that a privately financed hotel would be best.
"I think this is far superior to the plan on the table two years ago," he said. "I still have a nagging worry that if we don't grow the room nights, it could hurt other hotels.
"I hope my concerns are not well-founded," Hollern said. "I hope we get the tourism we're shooting for. It's a necessary thing that we go forward on this."
Paniagua said the past few months have been spent negotiating the finer points of the deal.
But it was time well spent, Paniagua said, because he believes that this is a good deal for the city.
"If the hotel has a rough year, the city still doesn't put any additional money into it," he said. "We don't bear any of the financial risk."
By Anna M. Tinsley, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - After months of negotiations, city leaders say they've hammered out the final details for Omni Hotels to build a 600-room luxury hotel downtown -- and construction could start by the end of the year.
For more than seven months, the city and Omni have been negotiating over a privately owned, Texas-themed hotel across from the Fort Worth Convention Center. The plan includes nearly $50 million in public money. The overall cost is projected to be more than $90 million.
"This is going to light up the south end of downtown," Mayor Mike Moncrief said. "It will provide more opportunities to attract larger conventions.
"There are some city incentives, but this will be a privately built hotel," he said. "The city is not getting into the hotel business, nor should it."
The final proposal -- which includes an underground garage and possibly condominiums on top of the hotel -- will be presented publicly during a City Council meeting March 24.
Council members could vote on the deal by March 29, and if they approve, Omni could break ground by the end of the year, officials said.
The plan calls for about $48.5 million in tax rebates and refunds from the city, county and state and $6 million for a city-built, 400-space parking garage.
"We are coming to Fort Worth because we believe it's a great American city and a place we want to do business," said Scott Johnson, Omni's vice president for acquisitions and development. "We're ecstatic about the progress we've made.
"It has been a long road, and we are anxious to kick this project off."
In the works for more than two years, this plan differs from one in 2002 that called for the city to build a hotel with taxpayer money. Public outrage and a petition drive to force the issue before voters quelled that plan.
City leaders say this version is better because the bulk of the public funds would come from hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel.
Johnson said that it could take about two years to build the hotel -- of "four-diamond" quality -- and that it could open in late 2007 or early 2008.
Omni plans to build a 15-to 21-story hotel, with 48,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, a pool and an exercise facility on two blocks of city-owned land west of the convention center.
Omni would lease the site from the city for $10,000 a year for 99 years and could buy the land for $1 million after 10 years. It could sell the hotel after three years of operation, with city approval.
"This hotel is so important for the convention and tourism industry in Fort Worth," said Kirk Slaughter, the city's public events director. "It will really help attract business to the community.
"It is going to be a great addition to Fort Worth."
Public funding
Under the plan, city officials say Omni would receive:
• $29.8 million in city rebates and funding, mainly through hotel and sales taxes collected at the hotel over 10 years. This includes $6 million for a 400-space garage to go under the hotel and be paid for with reserve funds. Previous plans called for an above-ground garage that would have been shared by the city and Omni.
• $16.9 million in state rebates from hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel in its first 10 years.
• $1.8 million in refunded county property taxes generated by the hotel in its first 10 years. No school taxes would be used.
• A 10-year catering contract for convention center events.
In return, Omni would be required to award a portion of its contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses and a share of new jobs to Fort Worth residents. As much as 80 percent of the hotel rooms could be set aside for future conventions.
Johnson said a decision on whether to include condos at the top of the hotel will be made in coming months.
"We're doing our due diligence on that now, studying the market," Johnson said. "We believe that condominiums on top of our hotel would be a great addition. Now we need to figure out if there's a market for it."
Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua said any condos would add to the total $90 million cost and would not receive a tax abatement from the city.
City officials have long said a hotel is needed because, despite a $75 million renovation of the convention center, Fort Worth is losing convention business to other cities.
"We have everything the people of Texas, United States and around the world would want to come and see," Councilman Jim Lane said. "We upgraded the convention center, and now we need a convention center hotel.
"There are good hotels downtown, but not one really dedicated to the convention business," he said. "This hotel will be a great amenity for Fort Worth."
Hurting other hotels?
Not everyone is convinced.
Stan Kennedy, vice president and general manager for the Radisson Plaza Hotel, said he's concerned that a convention center hotel could strip business from other downtown hotels.
"Our concern is, can the existing market take on additional supply without increased demand?" he said. "Short-term, this is going to have a negative effect on all the hotels here.
"It's our hope that long-term, we can fill in with new business."
Omni officials said they believe such fears are unfounded.
"We don't feel that we're going to be picking off business from the current market," said Robert Rowling, owner of TRT Holdings, Omni's parent company. "Whatever we take away, we hope would be more than made up from new business brought to town."
Steve Hollern, a vocal opponent to the 2002 plan, served on a blue-ribbon committee that reviewed the proposal. He maintained through the process that a privately financed hotel would be best.
"I think this is far superior to the plan on the table two years ago," he said. "I still have a nagging worry that if we don't grow the room nights, it could hurt other hotels.
"I hope my concerns are not well-founded," Hollern said. "I hope we get the tourism we're shooting for. It's a necessary thing that we go forward on this."
Paniagua said the past few months have been spent negotiating the finer points of the deal.
But it was time well spent, Paniagua said, because he believes that this is a good deal for the city.
"If the hotel has a rough year, the city still doesn't put any additional money into it," he said. "We don't bear any of the financial risk."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Famous careers cross in Cowtown
By Bud Kennedy, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - The most famous radio team in Fort Worth history is in town this week.
Bob Schieffer on news.
George Carlin as the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman.
OK, so they weren't co-anchors back in 1959. Schieffer was a roving radio news reporter for KXOL, a pioneer rock music station in a tiny studio on West Lancaster Avenue. About the time he was leaving for the Air Force, Carlin arrived as the night disc jockey.
It was a time before the assassination, before Watergate, before local TV news personalities or hit comedy careers.
Fort Worth was a booming city. But it also was a remarkably small town.
By night, the KXOL crowd went downtown to see Carlin working up his comedy act. He and another reporter, Jack Burns, teamed up in The Cellar nightclub to do a standup bit about a fake radio station, "Wonderful WINO."
The next time Burns & Carlin saw Fort Worth, they were stars fresh off the Tonight Show.
Schieffer mentioned Carlin in his book, This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You On TV.
On Saturday, Carlin returns for two shows at Bass Hall.
Tonight, Schieffer takes over as the CBS Evening News anchor.
This week, he told his students at the newly renamed Texas Christian University Schieffer School of Journalism how he started as a radio reporter chasing the "three 'R's' -- wrecks, rapes and robberies."
In the book, he told how KXOL hired him part-time in 1956 for $1 an hour. News director and Fort Worth Cats announcer Bill Hightower told Schieffer, a TCU sophomore, to look out the station window and describe the Fort Worth high school football stadium across Lancaster.
"I remember babbling on to the effect that it was big and gray," Schieffer wrote.
He got the job by saying he could type. "I couldn't."
Schieffer turned to radio after his first TV blooper -- as a North Side High School student doing a Foremost Dairies commercial on a Channel 5 youth show. Teen Times.
He was supposed to say, "That Foremost milk is surrre good."
"I did it perfectly," he wrote.
"Except to say, 'That Vandervoort's milk is surrre good.' "
He was obviously never going to be a big-time star like the show's host.
That was a college guy named Pat Boone.
Schieffer and his family lived first on Merritt Street in River Oaks, then on Williams Road in Benbrook.
On Sundays, they went to Ridglea Presbyterian Church on Camp Bowie Boulevard.
Sitting a few pews away was the congressman from Fort Worth, Jim Wright.
"I knew who the Schieffers were," Wright said Wednesday, after a day among the guests at the Schieffer School reception. "I remember the boys."
Bob's little brother, Tom, was an Arlington Heights High School student body president who went on to the Texas House, a partnership in the Texas Rangers and the ambassadorship to Australia.
In the choir -- or maybe in the church basement playing his guitar -- was a teen-age Air Force kid who would go on to singing stardom.
Then, he was John Deutschendorf. Later, he was known as John Denver.
In another pew sat a very young baseball player, the son of a local Chevrolet dealer.
That kid is now the new Texas secretary of state, Roger Williams.
Williams, Tom Schieffer's friend, remembers his older brother.
"When you're 8, and a guy who's 20 says hello and treats you with respect, that's what I call a friend," Williams said Wednesday.
"Then he goes on TV and becomes a star. But when he comes back, he's still your friend."
Both the Schieffer and Williams families shared a common Fort Worth bond in the 1950s and '60s: baseball. Bob Schieffer starred at North Side and played freshman baseball at TCU.
I haven't checked the Fort Worth Press newspaper archives, but some of Schieffer's best North Side games were probably covered by future novelists like Bud Shrake or Gary Cartwright, maybe Dan Jenkins.
Someone else destined for fame also lived on the west side of Fort Worth back then.
In September 1956, the month Schieffer started at KXOL, a high school sophomore named Lee and his mother, Marguerite, argued a lot in their rent house on Collinwood Avenue.
Years later, in 1963, Schieffer was a Star-Telegram reporter.
Marguerite called asking if anyone could take her to Dallas.
"Lady," Schieffer said, "this is not a taxi, and besides, the president has been shot."
"I know," Marguerite Oswald replied. "They think my son is the one who shot him."
It would become the biggest story ever for a star reporter from what must have been the very small town of Fort Worth.
By Bud Kennedy, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas - The most famous radio team in Fort Worth history is in town this week.
Bob Schieffer on news.
George Carlin as the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman.
OK, so they weren't co-anchors back in 1959. Schieffer was a roving radio news reporter for KXOL, a pioneer rock music station in a tiny studio on West Lancaster Avenue. About the time he was leaving for the Air Force, Carlin arrived as the night disc jockey.
It was a time before the assassination, before Watergate, before local TV news personalities or hit comedy careers.
Fort Worth was a booming city. But it also was a remarkably small town.
By night, the KXOL crowd went downtown to see Carlin working up his comedy act. He and another reporter, Jack Burns, teamed up in The Cellar nightclub to do a standup bit about a fake radio station, "Wonderful WINO."
The next time Burns & Carlin saw Fort Worth, they were stars fresh off the Tonight Show.
Schieffer mentioned Carlin in his book, This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You On TV.
On Saturday, Carlin returns for two shows at Bass Hall.
Tonight, Schieffer takes over as the CBS Evening News anchor.
This week, he told his students at the newly renamed Texas Christian University Schieffer School of Journalism how he started as a radio reporter chasing the "three 'R's' -- wrecks, rapes and robberies."
In the book, he told how KXOL hired him part-time in 1956 for $1 an hour. News director and Fort Worth Cats announcer Bill Hightower told Schieffer, a TCU sophomore, to look out the station window and describe the Fort Worth high school football stadium across Lancaster.
"I remember babbling on to the effect that it was big and gray," Schieffer wrote.
He got the job by saying he could type. "I couldn't."
Schieffer turned to radio after his first TV blooper -- as a North Side High School student doing a Foremost Dairies commercial on a Channel 5 youth show. Teen Times.
He was supposed to say, "That Foremost milk is surrre good."
"I did it perfectly," he wrote.
"Except to say, 'That Vandervoort's milk is surrre good.' "
He was obviously never going to be a big-time star like the show's host.
That was a college guy named Pat Boone.
Schieffer and his family lived first on Merritt Street in River Oaks, then on Williams Road in Benbrook.
On Sundays, they went to Ridglea Presbyterian Church on Camp Bowie Boulevard.
Sitting a few pews away was the congressman from Fort Worth, Jim Wright.
"I knew who the Schieffers were," Wright said Wednesday, after a day among the guests at the Schieffer School reception. "I remember the boys."
Bob's little brother, Tom, was an Arlington Heights High School student body president who went on to the Texas House, a partnership in the Texas Rangers and the ambassadorship to Australia.
In the choir -- or maybe in the church basement playing his guitar -- was a teen-age Air Force kid who would go on to singing stardom.
Then, he was John Deutschendorf. Later, he was known as John Denver.
In another pew sat a very young baseball player, the son of a local Chevrolet dealer.
That kid is now the new Texas secretary of state, Roger Williams.
Williams, Tom Schieffer's friend, remembers his older brother.
"When you're 8, and a guy who's 20 says hello and treats you with respect, that's what I call a friend," Williams said Wednesday.
"Then he goes on TV and becomes a star. But when he comes back, he's still your friend."
Both the Schieffer and Williams families shared a common Fort Worth bond in the 1950s and '60s: baseball. Bob Schieffer starred at North Side and played freshman baseball at TCU.
I haven't checked the Fort Worth Press newspaper archives, but some of Schieffer's best North Side games were probably covered by future novelists like Bud Shrake or Gary Cartwright, maybe Dan Jenkins.
Someone else destined for fame also lived on the west side of Fort Worth back then.
In September 1956, the month Schieffer started at KXOL, a high school sophomore named Lee and his mother, Marguerite, argued a lot in their rent house on Collinwood Avenue.
Years later, in 1963, Schieffer was a Star-Telegram reporter.
Marguerite called asking if anyone could take her to Dallas.
"Lady," Schieffer said, "this is not a taxi, and besides, the president has been shot."
"I know," Marguerite Oswald replied. "They think my son is the one who shot him."
It would become the biggest story ever for a star reporter from what must have been the very small town of Fort Worth.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Residents anxiously await park
By Don Chance, Special to the Star-Telegram
AZLE, Texas - More than a year after the state awarded Azle a $500,000 grant to build a large city park, residents are wondering when construction will begin.
"Azle has a problem with planning things then not following through," Angie Sudduth said. "Wal-Mart, Walgreens -- and I thought there was supposed to be some street repair. But we haven't seen it."
Sudduth and her husband, Curtis, have three home-schooled children and live near the proposed park site. She said that her family welcomes the idea of a new park, and she said she is somewhat impatient over how long it's taking.
"I think Azle desperately needs another park on this end of town," she said.
The 26-acre project is temporarily being called Linear Park. As proposed, it will extend about a mile and half from near Farm Road 730 and Main Street to the sports fields at Ash Creek Park beside Texas 199.
Kyle Culwell, head of the Azle Parks and Streets Department, said that the waiting is almost over but that details need to be worked out.
"We're still in the process of trying to get the commitment from the property owners of the land," Culwell said. "We've been able to go over there and stake the land. Now we've got to survey and get the approval of those property owners."
Originally, donations of money, land, materials, equipment, labor and other considerations in kind from Azle residents were expected to provide matching funds for the state grant. But Culwell said that it's still too early to estimate final costs of the park or how much in donations will be needed.
"Everything has got to be engineered, too," Culwell said. "All that will have to be addressed."
Harold Pitchford, acting assistant director for the Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department, said that long waits are normal in projects like this.
"There's a considerable planning effort that goes on," Pitchford said. "That's a big park. That'd be considered a community park, and that's a significant size. I can understand it taking that long."
Pitchford said that people often expect to see the new park within days after it is announced but that such projects come with lots of red tape.
"Once the grant is awarded, it may take five or six months to get the contract signed," Pitchford said. "And it could take another year to do the design work. But the construction part, if it's not too complicated, happens pretty quickly."
Culwell agreed.
"Over the next few months it will get really busy," he said. "But right now we're still in that delay."
But for Sudduth, the park can't come soon enough.
"It seems to take a long time for things to come together in Azle," she said.
By Don Chance, Special to the Star-Telegram
AZLE, Texas - More than a year after the state awarded Azle a $500,000 grant to build a large city park, residents are wondering when construction will begin.
"Azle has a problem with planning things then not following through," Angie Sudduth said. "Wal-Mart, Walgreens -- and I thought there was supposed to be some street repair. But we haven't seen it."
Sudduth and her husband, Curtis, have three home-schooled children and live near the proposed park site. She said that her family welcomes the idea of a new park, and she said she is somewhat impatient over how long it's taking.
"I think Azle desperately needs another park on this end of town," she said.
The 26-acre project is temporarily being called Linear Park. As proposed, it will extend about a mile and half from near Farm Road 730 and Main Street to the sports fields at Ash Creek Park beside Texas 199.
Kyle Culwell, head of the Azle Parks and Streets Department, said that the waiting is almost over but that details need to be worked out.
"We're still in the process of trying to get the commitment from the property owners of the land," Culwell said. "We've been able to go over there and stake the land. Now we've got to survey and get the approval of those property owners."
Originally, donations of money, land, materials, equipment, labor and other considerations in kind from Azle residents were expected to provide matching funds for the state grant. But Culwell said that it's still too early to estimate final costs of the park or how much in donations will be needed.
"Everything has got to be engineered, too," Culwell said. "All that will have to be addressed."
Harold Pitchford, acting assistant director for the Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department, said that long waits are normal in projects like this.
"There's a considerable planning effort that goes on," Pitchford said. "That's a big park. That'd be considered a community park, and that's a significant size. I can understand it taking that long."
Pitchford said that people often expect to see the new park within days after it is announced but that such projects come with lots of red tape.
"Once the grant is awarded, it may take five or six months to get the contract signed," Pitchford said. "And it could take another year to do the design work. But the construction part, if it's not too complicated, happens pretty quickly."
Culwell agreed.
"Over the next few months it will get really busy," he said. "But right now we're still in that delay."
But for Sudduth, the park can't come soon enough.
"It seems to take a long time for things to come together in Azle," she said.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Police find escaped inmate's van
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
MESQUITE, Texas - Roy Gardner has spent almost 18 years of his life in prison, so when the 51-year-old federal inmate escaped from a Mesquite hospital Wednesday night, he called his older sister to warn her he "wasn't going back."
Mr. Gardner overpowered a security officer at Mesquite Community Hospital, stole his .45-caliber handgun and carjacked a van from a construction worker in the parking lot about 7 p.m., police said.
Late Wednesday night Dallas police recovered the stolen van Gardner used for his getaway in Pleasant Grove, but the convicted felon remained at large.
Mesquite police warned he was "very, very dangerous" and has a history of violence, but his sister said "he's not as bad as he sounds."
Mr. Gardner, a Dallas native, has prior convictions for possession of narcotics, burglary and being a felon in possession of a gun, records show.
His 62-year-old sister, who did not want to be identified because of concerns about her health, said he was being treated for tuberculosis. She said he had been released from prison recently but was reincarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville after he failed a drug test.
During his release he had stayed with his sister in Dallas.
He called her Wednesday night after his escape to warn her that authorities would be on their way, she said.
"I love my brother, but right now I think he's nothing but a damn idiot for walking off," she said. "He'll run and they'll shoot him. I'm worried because he's hellbent on running.
"If you had spent 17 ½ years in lock-up, I'm sure you wouldn't want to go back either."
Late Wednesday, Mr. Gardner's getaway vehicle – a white Chevrolet van with "Ivy Mechanical" printed on the side and a Mississippi license plate beginning with "ATH" – was discovered in the 11600 block of Kleberg Road in Dallas, near Interstate 20 and U.S. 175.
A supervisor at FCI Seagoville declined to comment Wednesday night, and Bureau of Prisons authorities could not be reached for comment.
Police said he had been at the hospital since February.
Mr. Gardner's sister said he had been in trouble most of his life.
"We had a childhood that no child ever should have had," she said. "He came out of that prison after being locked up so long like a lost little child. He doesn't even know how to balance a checkbook," she said.
WFAA ABC 8 reporter Cynthia Vega in Mesquite contributed to this report.
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
MESQUITE, Texas - Roy Gardner has spent almost 18 years of his life in prison, so when the 51-year-old federal inmate escaped from a Mesquite hospital Wednesday night, he called his older sister to warn her he "wasn't going back."
Mr. Gardner overpowered a security officer at Mesquite Community Hospital, stole his .45-caliber handgun and carjacked a van from a construction worker in the parking lot about 7 p.m., police said.
Late Wednesday night Dallas police recovered the stolen van Gardner used for his getaway in Pleasant Grove, but the convicted felon remained at large.
Mesquite police warned he was "very, very dangerous" and has a history of violence, but his sister said "he's not as bad as he sounds."
Mr. Gardner, a Dallas native, has prior convictions for possession of narcotics, burglary and being a felon in possession of a gun, records show.
His 62-year-old sister, who did not want to be identified because of concerns about her health, said he was being treated for tuberculosis. She said he had been released from prison recently but was reincarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville after he failed a drug test.
During his release he had stayed with his sister in Dallas.
He called her Wednesday night after his escape to warn her that authorities would be on their way, she said.
"I love my brother, but right now I think he's nothing but a damn idiot for walking off," she said. "He'll run and they'll shoot him. I'm worried because he's hellbent on running.
"If you had spent 17 ½ years in lock-up, I'm sure you wouldn't want to go back either."
Late Wednesday, Mr. Gardner's getaway vehicle – a white Chevrolet van with "Ivy Mechanical" printed on the side and a Mississippi license plate beginning with "ATH" – was discovered in the 11600 block of Kleberg Road in Dallas, near Interstate 20 and U.S. 175.
A supervisor at FCI Seagoville declined to comment Wednesday night, and Bureau of Prisons authorities could not be reached for comment.
Police said he had been at the hospital since February.
Mr. Gardner's sister said he had been in trouble most of his life.
"We had a childhood that no child ever should have had," she said. "He came out of that prison after being locked up so long like a lost little child. He doesn't even know how to balance a checkbook," she said.
WFAA ABC 8 reporter Cynthia Vega in Mesquite contributed to this report.
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 50 guests