Residents worry about Fort Worth apartments' pending sale
By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - Some people who live in a Fort Worth apartment complex are protesting the possible sale of their homes.
The Prince Hall Gardens apartments on Robert Street could be sold Tuesday on the courthouse steps, because HUD officials say the current owner is not making payments. Some of the 200 residents worry they're going to soon lose their homes in the 40-year-old complex.
"It's kind of hard to uproot from your home," said apartment resident Archie Boggas.
24-year-old Shaquilla Sutton raises her two-year-old at the apartments.
"Prince Hall alows me to go to school, get an education, " Sutton said. "I have some goals."
If Sutton loses HUD help, she said she might lose her opportunities.
Most of the families who live in the complex wouldn't if they had a choice, but their low incomes mean they need HUD assistance for a roof over their heads.
"The voucher program has been faced with budget cuts and changes in funding formula that make it difficult for housing authorities around the country to serve the same number of families," said Sandy Rollins of the Texas Tenants Union. "It takes about $15 an hour to afford market-rate housing, and as long as there are jobs that pay, $6, $7 and $8 an hour, there's a need for affordable housing. "
But HUD promises if the sale goes through, every resident will get a voucher to move to another Section 8 complex - and there's even a chance they wouldn't have to move at all.
A HUD official told News 8 Thursday afternoon that a new owner may fix up the complex and accept the vouchers, allowing the residents to stay. That will be determined next week.
News from the Lone Star State
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Area seniors stuck in no-passing zone
Having not mastered TAKS, hundreds won't see graduation day
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Kendra Rainey won't be wearing that graduation gown hanging in her closet. And the announcements mailed to friends and family are now a painful reminder.
Last week, Kendra was ushered into a counselor's office at Bryan Adams High School in Dallas to get the bad news: She failed to pass the TAKS in her final attempt and will not graduate with her class Sunday.
"It makes me feel like all I've done is a waste of time," said Kendra, 18, who didn't pass the math and science portions of the test. "I can't be there with my class."
But she is not without peers. Hundreds of area seniors – including up to 697 students in DISD, or about 10 percent of the senior class – will not receive their diplomas after failing to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
This is the first school year that seniors who did not pass all portions of the TAKS cannot graduate. They began taking the exit-level test in the 11th grade and had up to five chances to pass.
Those students are left to consider some options: They can continue to retake the TAKS until they pass or pursue a GED. Others may choose to do nothing – never receiving a diploma after finishing all of their coursework.
The news has hit students – and parents – hard.
Patricia Rainey said her daughter has cried more times than she can count. She now has to postpone attending Texas Southern University in Houston, where she was accepted.
"She's been crying every day, I feel so sorry for her. She has me crying," she said. "This is holding her back."
Dallas Independent School District spokesman Donald Claxton, who said the final number of affected students will be reported in about a week, agreed that it's not an easy situation.
"They are students who have gone through the school district for 12 years and aren't ready to graduate," Mr. Claxton said. "When that doesn't happen, we share their concern and pain."
He said DISD would work with students wanting to retake the test.
"All hope is not lost. We are going to continue to coach them," Mr. Claxton said.
Number varied
The number of affected seniors varied among area school districts. Fifty-eight students in Garland won't march, and 151 will sit out in Arlington. Seventeen students fell short in Plano, while every senior in the Highland Park and Carroll school districts passed the exit exam.
Of districts reporting results, Dallas had the largest percentage of seniors failing the TAKS.
The Texas Education Agency will soon release statewide numbers, but 11 percent, or 24,937, of Texas seniors still needed to pass a portion of the test in April – before the last retake.
At that time, 95 percent of students had passed math and English language arts, 94 percent had passed science, and 99 percent had passed social studies.
Students said the test – particularly math and science – was challenging.
Ashlee Williams, a student at Skyline High School, was visibly upset when she spoke about the math test.
"It was my fourth time taking it," she said. "What's the point?"
Detorrian Rhone, 18, said the pressure was too much for him. He said he was nervous the whole time taking the math and science exams.
"They were like, 'If you don't pass, you don't graduate,' " said the Bryan Adams student.
The graduation rule involving standardized tests is not new to Texas. Previously, seniors needed to pass the TAAS. But the TAKS, which debuted in 2003, is much more rigorous than its predecessor.
The new exam covers more subjects, including the addition of science. Students also began taking the exit-level TAAS in the 10th grade, which gave them more opportunities to pass. Only about two percent of last year's seniors did not pass TAAS.
TEA spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said state lawmakers wanted to make sure that a high school diploma meant something.
"We know that it is heartbreaking for students to get to mid-May and discover they aren't going to graduate," she said. "But ever since the class of 1987, students have had to pass a state test in order to graduate."
The next opportunity to retake the test is in July. School districts have the option of allowing students to participate in commencement. Or they can give them "certificates of coursework completion," which indicates all necessary credits to graduate were completed.
Dallas and Mesquite allow neither. But the Denton and Richardson school districts allow both.
DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokeswoman, said excluding seniors who failed a state exam is not an unusual practice.
"They believe that the kids who are participating are the ones that earned it," she said.
Difficult to handle
But for students and parents, the exclusion is difficult to handle.
"That's like taking their spirit," said Terry Tucker, whose daughter did not pass the science portion. "They've worked for four years for that moment."
Ms. Tucker said her daughter, Tamara Roberts, cried for two days and even vomited when she got the news that she couldn't graduate. She said her daughter now has to postpone attending El Centro College.
Tamara, 17, who tried to pass the science test five times, said it only seemed to get harder.
"I want to walk across that stage," said the Bryan Adams student. "I want them to call my name, too."
Michael Burney, also a Bryan Adams senior, tried to pass the science exam four times. He plans to take it again in July.
"Sometimes it makes me feel like all I've done – it's a waste of time," said Michael, who will delay plans to attend Lincoln Tech in Grand Prairie.
Meanwhile, families have been left to cancel graduation parties and absorb a financial hit. Kendra Rainey spent $250 on a graduation package that included her gown and announcements. She also bought senior pictures for $209 and a senior lunch for $13.
Several parents and students showed up at a Dallas school board meeting Wednesday night with a few homemade signs. One read: "12 years for what? To be kicked to the curb at the end!"
Patricia Rainey, Kendra's mother, said she predicts the dropout rate will increase as students give up on ever passing the test.
"They're always hollering about kids dropping out of school, but look what they're doing," she said.
Having not mastered TAKS, hundreds won't see graduation day
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Kendra Rainey won't be wearing that graduation gown hanging in her closet. And the announcements mailed to friends and family are now a painful reminder.
Last week, Kendra was ushered into a counselor's office at Bryan Adams High School in Dallas to get the bad news: She failed to pass the TAKS in her final attempt and will not graduate with her class Sunday.
"It makes me feel like all I've done is a waste of time," said Kendra, 18, who didn't pass the math and science portions of the test. "I can't be there with my class."
But she is not without peers. Hundreds of area seniors – including up to 697 students in DISD, or about 10 percent of the senior class – will not receive their diplomas after failing to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
This is the first school year that seniors who did not pass all portions of the TAKS cannot graduate. They began taking the exit-level test in the 11th grade and had up to five chances to pass.
Those students are left to consider some options: They can continue to retake the TAKS until they pass or pursue a GED. Others may choose to do nothing – never receiving a diploma after finishing all of their coursework.
The news has hit students – and parents – hard.
Patricia Rainey said her daughter has cried more times than she can count. She now has to postpone attending Texas Southern University in Houston, where she was accepted.
"She's been crying every day, I feel so sorry for her. She has me crying," she said. "This is holding her back."
Dallas Independent School District spokesman Donald Claxton, who said the final number of affected students will be reported in about a week, agreed that it's not an easy situation.
"They are students who have gone through the school district for 12 years and aren't ready to graduate," Mr. Claxton said. "When that doesn't happen, we share their concern and pain."
He said DISD would work with students wanting to retake the test.
"All hope is not lost. We are going to continue to coach them," Mr. Claxton said.
Number varied
The number of affected seniors varied among area school districts. Fifty-eight students in Garland won't march, and 151 will sit out in Arlington. Seventeen students fell short in Plano, while every senior in the Highland Park and Carroll school districts passed the exit exam.
Of districts reporting results, Dallas had the largest percentage of seniors failing the TAKS.
The Texas Education Agency will soon release statewide numbers, but 11 percent, or 24,937, of Texas seniors still needed to pass a portion of the test in April – before the last retake.
At that time, 95 percent of students had passed math and English language arts, 94 percent had passed science, and 99 percent had passed social studies.
Students said the test – particularly math and science – was challenging.
Ashlee Williams, a student at Skyline High School, was visibly upset when she spoke about the math test.
"It was my fourth time taking it," she said. "What's the point?"
Detorrian Rhone, 18, said the pressure was too much for him. He said he was nervous the whole time taking the math and science exams.
"They were like, 'If you don't pass, you don't graduate,' " said the Bryan Adams student.
The graduation rule involving standardized tests is not new to Texas. Previously, seniors needed to pass the TAAS. But the TAKS, which debuted in 2003, is much more rigorous than its predecessor.
The new exam covers more subjects, including the addition of science. Students also began taking the exit-level TAAS in the 10th grade, which gave them more opportunities to pass. Only about two percent of last year's seniors did not pass TAAS.
TEA spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said state lawmakers wanted to make sure that a high school diploma meant something.
"We know that it is heartbreaking for students to get to mid-May and discover they aren't going to graduate," she said. "But ever since the class of 1987, students have had to pass a state test in order to graduate."
The next opportunity to retake the test is in July. School districts have the option of allowing students to participate in commencement. Or they can give them "certificates of coursework completion," which indicates all necessary credits to graduate were completed.
Dallas and Mesquite allow neither. But the Denton and Richardson school districts allow both.
DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokeswoman, said excluding seniors who failed a state exam is not an unusual practice.
"They believe that the kids who are participating are the ones that earned it," she said.
Difficult to handle
But for students and parents, the exclusion is difficult to handle.
"That's like taking their spirit," said Terry Tucker, whose daughter did not pass the science portion. "They've worked for four years for that moment."
Ms. Tucker said her daughter, Tamara Roberts, cried for two days and even vomited when she got the news that she couldn't graduate. She said her daughter now has to postpone attending El Centro College.
Tamara, 17, who tried to pass the science test five times, said it only seemed to get harder.
"I want to walk across that stage," said the Bryan Adams student. "I want them to call my name, too."
Michael Burney, also a Bryan Adams senior, tried to pass the science exam four times. He plans to take it again in July.
"Sometimes it makes me feel like all I've done – it's a waste of time," said Michael, who will delay plans to attend Lincoln Tech in Grand Prairie.
Meanwhile, families have been left to cancel graduation parties and absorb a financial hit. Kendra Rainey spent $250 on a graduation package that included her gown and announcements. She also bought senior pictures for $209 and a senior lunch for $13.
Several parents and students showed up at a Dallas school board meeting Wednesday night with a few homemade signs. One read: "12 years for what? To be kicked to the curb at the end!"
Patricia Rainey, Kendra's mother, said she predicts the dropout rate will increase as students give up on ever passing the test.
"They're always hollering about kids dropping out of school, but look what they're doing," she said.
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Kittens' deaths stir anger
Collin County: Drowning kittens once seen as OK for control
By LINDA STEWART BALL / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas - There was a time, not too long ago, when drowning kittens was considered an acceptable way to control the cat population.
Longtime Collin County farmers say that method of getting rid of unwanted animals was commonplace to some of the older generation. By today's standards, many consider the act barbaric, even criminal.
On Tuesday, a Fannin County man was arrested on an animal cruelty charge in connection with the drowning of four kittens in a northeast Collin County creek. Prosecution of such cases is rare because witnesses don't usually come forward.
Earl Rutledge, 62, of Trenton was charged after a bystander said she saw a man chuck a box full of kittens over a bridge and took down his license plate number.
If convicted, Mr. Rutledge, who owns a machine shop in McKinney, could face a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Out on bail, Mr. Rutledge could not be reached for comment.
The case has raised the ire of animal welfare activists, but some wonder whether he was caught in changing mores.
Robert "Mike" Black, 55, a Collin County farmer who lives between McKinney and Melissa, said drowning cats was not unusual in the past.
"A lot of people did drown them because they had so many," he said. "They'd put them in a sack and throw some bricks in there and throw them in the tank or whatever."
He said barn cats were a popular way to chase rats away. But when the number of cats grew too large, people didn't know what else to do with them.
There was "no such thing as the SPCA in the country" and sterilizing a cat or dog "was unheard of," he said.
So the animals were destroyed.
"I've seen a lot of people do it, but I just let ... [the wild cats] go," Mr. Black said.
James Randles, 67, who grew up on a farm in Anna and owns about 78 acres in the area, recalled having only one or two cats as a child.
"We came up with one and the next thing you knew you had 25 or 30 running out the back door. You can understand why a man would be aggravated like that. Cats will multiply on you."
But animal-rights advocates say drowning is cruel because it takes several minutes. They claim euthanasia or death by injection is more humane because it's quick and painless.
"The [state animal cruelty law] does not specifically say it's illegal to drown a cat, but I think a reasonable person would say, times change, we have animal shelters you can take animals to that don't charge anything," said James Bias, president of the SPCA of Texas. "Just because we did it 100, 50 or 10 years ago doesn't mean the standards are always going to be the same.
"We had slavery for a number of years. That was acceptable then. It's not accepted now."
Rural sociologists' research shows there is a difference in the way rural people and more urban dwellers view animals – though studies don't specifically address cat drowning.
"People having had a farm background do tend to have a more utilitarian view of animals," said Jeff Sharp, associate professor of rural sociology at Ohio State University. "They see animals serving more of a functional purpose."
But surveys have found that some suburbanites, those in the upper incomes, aren't necessarily the most sympathetic to animals.
"The whole idea of abuse, I'd say that happens across the spectrum," Dr. Sharp said, adding that there's a growing level of concern for animal welfare. "In general, our society is trying to come to some sense of what is appropriate treatment of animals."
Elaine Munch serves on the board of an organization that relocates barn cats to more urban areas. When she was a child, it was not unusual to hear of people taking a bag of kittens down to the river.
"It's a prevalent old country attitude," said Ms. Munch, who is also president of Metroplex Animal Coalition, which provides free spaying and neutering services for low-income Dallas residents' pets. "The city attitude is, if you don't want your animal, drive them out to the country and dump them, as if country folk can take care of them. That's what a lot of ignorant city folk do. Ignorance is everywhere."
Animal-welfare activists say there are better ways to deal with unwanted animals.
"The kinder thing to do is take the animal to a shelter. But the smarter thing to do is to take your animal to be spayed or neutered," Ms. Munch said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the Numbers:
420,000 cats that two uncontrolled breeding cats can be produce in seven years.
70,000 kittens and puppies are born in the U.S. each day.
10,000 people are born in the U.S. each day.
An Estimated 200,000 cats and dogs were killed each year in animal shelters in Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas counties.
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research
Collin County: Drowning kittens once seen as OK for control
By LINDA STEWART BALL / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas - There was a time, not too long ago, when drowning kittens was considered an acceptable way to control the cat population.
Longtime Collin County farmers say that method of getting rid of unwanted animals was commonplace to some of the older generation. By today's standards, many consider the act barbaric, even criminal.
On Tuesday, a Fannin County man was arrested on an animal cruelty charge in connection with the drowning of four kittens in a northeast Collin County creek. Prosecution of such cases is rare because witnesses don't usually come forward.
Earl Rutledge, 62, of Trenton was charged after a bystander said she saw a man chuck a box full of kittens over a bridge and took down his license plate number.
If convicted, Mr. Rutledge, who owns a machine shop in McKinney, could face a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Out on bail, Mr. Rutledge could not be reached for comment.
The case has raised the ire of animal welfare activists, but some wonder whether he was caught in changing mores.
Robert "Mike" Black, 55, a Collin County farmer who lives between McKinney and Melissa, said drowning cats was not unusual in the past.
"A lot of people did drown them because they had so many," he said. "They'd put them in a sack and throw some bricks in there and throw them in the tank or whatever."
He said barn cats were a popular way to chase rats away. But when the number of cats grew too large, people didn't know what else to do with them.
There was "no such thing as the SPCA in the country" and sterilizing a cat or dog "was unheard of," he said.
So the animals were destroyed.
"I've seen a lot of people do it, but I just let ... [the wild cats] go," Mr. Black said.
James Randles, 67, who grew up on a farm in Anna and owns about 78 acres in the area, recalled having only one or two cats as a child.
"We came up with one and the next thing you knew you had 25 or 30 running out the back door. You can understand why a man would be aggravated like that. Cats will multiply on you."
But animal-rights advocates say drowning is cruel because it takes several minutes. They claim euthanasia or death by injection is more humane because it's quick and painless.
"The [state animal cruelty law] does not specifically say it's illegal to drown a cat, but I think a reasonable person would say, times change, we have animal shelters you can take animals to that don't charge anything," said James Bias, president of the SPCA of Texas. "Just because we did it 100, 50 or 10 years ago doesn't mean the standards are always going to be the same.
"We had slavery for a number of years. That was acceptable then. It's not accepted now."
Rural sociologists' research shows there is a difference in the way rural people and more urban dwellers view animals – though studies don't specifically address cat drowning.
"People having had a farm background do tend to have a more utilitarian view of animals," said Jeff Sharp, associate professor of rural sociology at Ohio State University. "They see animals serving more of a functional purpose."
But surveys have found that some suburbanites, those in the upper incomes, aren't necessarily the most sympathetic to animals.
"The whole idea of abuse, I'd say that happens across the spectrum," Dr. Sharp said, adding that there's a growing level of concern for animal welfare. "In general, our society is trying to come to some sense of what is appropriate treatment of animals."
Elaine Munch serves on the board of an organization that relocates barn cats to more urban areas. When she was a child, it was not unusual to hear of people taking a bag of kittens down to the river.
"It's a prevalent old country attitude," said Ms. Munch, who is also president of Metroplex Animal Coalition, which provides free spaying and neutering services for low-income Dallas residents' pets. "The city attitude is, if you don't want your animal, drive them out to the country and dump them, as if country folk can take care of them. That's what a lot of ignorant city folk do. Ignorance is everywhere."
Animal-welfare activists say there are better ways to deal with unwanted animals.
"The kinder thing to do is take the animal to a shelter. But the smarter thing to do is to take your animal to be spayed or neutered," Ms. Munch said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the Numbers:
420,000 cats that two uncontrolled breeding cats can be produce in seven years.
70,000 kittens and puppies are born in the U.S. each day.
10,000 people are born in the U.S. each day.
An Estimated 200,000 cats and dogs were killed each year in animal shelters in Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas counties.
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research
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TexasStooge
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Allen library feels exposed online
Officials warn that stuff site has similar Web address
By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News
ALLEN, Texas - Allen officials are warning parents to be extra careful when they or their children type the city library system's Web site address.
Turns out the real Allen Public Library site of http://www.allenlibrary.org is a only a few keystrokes from a site featuring pornographic images and links to adult Web sites.
Library officials have received a number of complaints from patrons who mistakenly visited the wrong site. Some patrons were upset that their children had stumbled upon it accidentally, said library director Barbara Buehler.
"I guess I just felt not surprised, because those type of sites try to pick out popular names," she said. "It did make me kind of sickened."
Ms. Buehler said she first learned about the site late last year after someone complained. The city's information technology director, Sid Hudson, has tried contacting the owner to negotiate purchasing the domain name but has been unsuccessful.
"It's kind of at a standstill," Allen spokeswoman Teresa Forsyth Warren said.
The adult-oriented Web site is registered to Gala Productions, a Cuban-based firm.
To get the word out about the correct site, the city plans to display information about the problem on the city's and library's Web sites.
City officials have consulted with police to determine if the city has any legal recourse.
"While the site's not appropriate for minors, it doesn't really include anything that's illegal by way of Internet practices," Ms. Warren said.
Officials warn that stuff site has similar Web address
By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News
ALLEN, Texas - Allen officials are warning parents to be extra careful when they or their children type the city library system's Web site address.
Turns out the real Allen Public Library site of http://www.allenlibrary.org is a only a few keystrokes from a site featuring pornographic images and links to adult Web sites.
Library officials have received a number of complaints from patrons who mistakenly visited the wrong site. Some patrons were upset that their children had stumbled upon it accidentally, said library director Barbara Buehler.
"I guess I just felt not surprised, because those type of sites try to pick out popular names," she said. "It did make me kind of sickened."
Ms. Buehler said she first learned about the site late last year after someone complained. The city's information technology director, Sid Hudson, has tried contacting the owner to negotiate purchasing the domain name but has been unsuccessful.
"It's kind of at a standstill," Allen spokeswoman Teresa Forsyth Warren said.
The adult-oriented Web site is registered to Gala Productions, a Cuban-based firm.
To get the word out about the correct site, the city plans to display information about the problem on the city's and library's Web sites.
City officials have consulted with police to determine if the city has any legal recourse.
"While the site's not appropriate for minors, it doesn't really include anything that's illegal by way of Internet practices," Ms. Warren said.
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Convicted killer in Corpus Christi executed
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A former mechanic from Chicago was executed Thursday for the robbery and fatal shooting of a Corpus Christi man.
In a brief final statement, Richard Cartwright thanked his friends and family for their support.
"I want to apologize to the victim's family for any pain and suffering I caused them," he said. Then he urged his fellow death row inmates to "just keep your heads up and stay strong."
His mother, a sister and three friends were among the witnesses, some of them crying after he sputtered and gasped a couple of times.
"They killed a good man, an excellent man," his mother, Irene Rekitzke, said after he was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. "Thank you God for taking him away from all this.
There were no witnesses from the murder victim's family.
Cartwright, 31, was the eighth Texas prisoner put to death this year and the second in as many days.
Cartwright was one of three men who duped Nick Moraida into thinking they were homosexuals offering to share beer with him at a beachfront park along Corpus Christi Bay in 1996. Instead, Moraida was stabbed then shot to death while being robbed of his watch and wallet containing between $60 and $200. His assailants hoped to use the money to buy drugs and alcohol.
Moraida's body was spotted by two fishermen the next morning in some sea grass.
Kelly Overstreet, 27, and Dennis Hagood, 28, are serving long prison terms. They agreed to plea bargains and testified against Cartwright.
Less than an hour before his scheduled lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a late appeal in which Cartwright's lawyers argued he was condemned by a Nueces County jury because of testimony Overstreet now insisted was false.
Overstreet originally placed much of the blame for the shooting on Cartwright, but in a written statement to Cartwright's lawyers earlier this month, Overstreet said he was "upset at being turned in by Hagood and Cartwright."
"I intentionally made Cartwright out to be the bad guy out of spite when in fact I am the one who was at the forefront of all events," Overstreet wrote.
In the appeal to the Supreme Court, Cartwright's attorneys argued that jurors relied on inaccurate information at the trial. And while not denying Cartwright fired the shots that killed Moraida, 37, the appeal said Cartwright participated in the robbery-slaying under duress because he feared retaliation from Overstreet, who had a reputation for violence.
"At most he merely followed orders from a violent person whom he was afraid of and who had already threatened him," the appeal said.
State attorneys argued it was "incredible" that Cartwright, armed with a gun, felt threatened by Overstreet, who had a knife. They also said Overstreet's new statements, which they called "inherently unreliable," did "nothing to establish actual innocence" or undermine Cartwright's culpability.
"No credible explanation has been given as to why Overstreet waited eight years to come forward with his testimony," the Texas attorney general's office said in its response to the high court.
"I am just another statistic in the dubious title held by the State of Texas – death penalty capital of the world," Cartwright, who declined to speak with reporters, wrote on an anti-death penalty Web site. "There are many reasons that this is wrong, not the least of which is that I did not commit the crime for which I was convicted and sentenced to death."
Mark Skurka, the trial prosecutor, said Cartwright "was a mean guy, a hard guy." Cartwright previously had a two-year jail term in Illinois for a drug conviction.
Just before his trial, Cartwright wrote letters from jail to his partners urging them to all agree on a single story. The letters were intercepted by authorities.
"They were very incriminating," Skurka said. "That helped hang him. We had the co-defendants, the accomplices, and we had to have corroborating testimony, and he provided it."
Wednesday, Bryan Wolfe, 44, a twice-convicted robber from Louisiana, was executed for the 1992 robbery-slaying of Bertha Lemell, an 84-year-old Beaumont woman who baby-sat his children.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A former mechanic from Chicago was executed Thursday for the robbery and fatal shooting of a Corpus Christi man.
In a brief final statement, Richard Cartwright thanked his friends and family for their support.
"I want to apologize to the victim's family for any pain and suffering I caused them," he said. Then he urged his fellow death row inmates to "just keep your heads up and stay strong."
His mother, a sister and three friends were among the witnesses, some of them crying after he sputtered and gasped a couple of times.
"They killed a good man, an excellent man," his mother, Irene Rekitzke, said after he was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. "Thank you God for taking him away from all this.
There were no witnesses from the murder victim's family.
Cartwright, 31, was the eighth Texas prisoner put to death this year and the second in as many days.
Cartwright was one of three men who duped Nick Moraida into thinking they were homosexuals offering to share beer with him at a beachfront park along Corpus Christi Bay in 1996. Instead, Moraida was stabbed then shot to death while being robbed of his watch and wallet containing between $60 and $200. His assailants hoped to use the money to buy drugs and alcohol.
Moraida's body was spotted by two fishermen the next morning in some sea grass.
Kelly Overstreet, 27, and Dennis Hagood, 28, are serving long prison terms. They agreed to plea bargains and testified against Cartwright.
Less than an hour before his scheduled lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a late appeal in which Cartwright's lawyers argued he was condemned by a Nueces County jury because of testimony Overstreet now insisted was false.
Overstreet originally placed much of the blame for the shooting on Cartwright, but in a written statement to Cartwright's lawyers earlier this month, Overstreet said he was "upset at being turned in by Hagood and Cartwright."
"I intentionally made Cartwright out to be the bad guy out of spite when in fact I am the one who was at the forefront of all events," Overstreet wrote.
In the appeal to the Supreme Court, Cartwright's attorneys argued that jurors relied on inaccurate information at the trial. And while not denying Cartwright fired the shots that killed Moraida, 37, the appeal said Cartwright participated in the robbery-slaying under duress because he feared retaliation from Overstreet, who had a reputation for violence.
"At most he merely followed orders from a violent person whom he was afraid of and who had already threatened him," the appeal said.
State attorneys argued it was "incredible" that Cartwright, armed with a gun, felt threatened by Overstreet, who had a knife. They also said Overstreet's new statements, which they called "inherently unreliable," did "nothing to establish actual innocence" or undermine Cartwright's culpability.
"No credible explanation has been given as to why Overstreet waited eight years to come forward with his testimony," the Texas attorney general's office said in its response to the high court.
"I am just another statistic in the dubious title held by the State of Texas – death penalty capital of the world," Cartwright, who declined to speak with reporters, wrote on an anti-death penalty Web site. "There are many reasons that this is wrong, not the least of which is that I did not commit the crime for which I was convicted and sentenced to death."
Mark Skurka, the trial prosecutor, said Cartwright "was a mean guy, a hard guy." Cartwright previously had a two-year jail term in Illinois for a drug conviction.
Just before his trial, Cartwright wrote letters from jail to his partners urging them to all agree on a single story. The letters were intercepted by authorities.
"They were very incriminating," Skurka said. "That helped hang him. We had the co-defendants, the accomplices, and we had to have corroborating testimony, and he provided it."
Wednesday, Bryan Wolfe, 44, a twice-convicted robber from Louisiana, was executed for the 1992 robbery-slaying of Bertha Lemell, an 84-year-old Beaumont woman who baby-sat his children.
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Vandals damage Oak Cliff church
Police investigate possible revenge motive
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are looking for the vandals who ransacked an Oak Cliff church.
Police were called to St. John's Lutheran Church in the 2900 block of Sunnyvale Street on Wednesday after someone found that an antique piano had been burned, the office area had been heavily damaged and someone had sprayed the sanctuary with a fire extinguisher.
The perpetrators defaced the altar using products that had been collected for a local food bank.
"It's tough to be a Christian and not think that the devil is not working," said Hazel Watson, a church member who surveyed the damage. "We have no money to do anything with. We have no idea what it's going to set us back financially, so we're just going to pray and be hopeful."
Cleanup was on hold until insurance company adjusters could examine the evidence.
Police investigators noted that certain photos had been singled out for damage, leading to speculation that the damage may have been motivated by revenge.
Records indicate that St. John's serves a congregation of about 125 and is affiliated with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"We're going to get a cleaning company crew to come in here and clean this up, and we're going to have church Sunday," Watson pledged.
Police investigate possible revenge motive
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are looking for the vandals who ransacked an Oak Cliff church.
Police were called to St. John's Lutheran Church in the 2900 block of Sunnyvale Street on Wednesday after someone found that an antique piano had been burned, the office area had been heavily damaged and someone had sprayed the sanctuary with a fire extinguisher.
The perpetrators defaced the altar using products that had been collected for a local food bank.
"It's tough to be a Christian and not think that the devil is not working," said Hazel Watson, a church member who surveyed the damage. "We have no money to do anything with. We have no idea what it's going to set us back financially, so we're just going to pray and be hopeful."
Cleanup was on hold until insurance company adjusters could examine the evidence.
Police investigators noted that certain photos had been singled out for damage, leading to speculation that the damage may have been motivated by revenge.
Records indicate that St. John's serves a congregation of about 125 and is affiliated with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"We're going to get a cleaning company crew to come in here and clean this up, and we're going to have church Sunday," Watson pledged.
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180 days over 10 years for drunk driver
Judge stretches out sentence so man remembers dead child
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - After jurors sentenced a 25-year-old Highland Park man to probation for the July 2003 drunk-driving related death of 10-year-old boy, District Judge Vickers Cunningham made sure the driver would not soon forget the pain he caused.
The judge sentenced Rocky F. Anderson to 180 days in jail but stretched the jail term out so Mr. Anderson spends the Christmas holidays and the victim's June birthday behind bars for the next 10 years.
While in jail, Mr. Anderson must write a letter to Braden Hopkins' family each year to mark the child's June birthday.
The jury, clearly moved by Mr. Anderson's remorse, gave him probation. The judge, moved by emotional statements addressed to Mr. Anderson by the child's relatives after the jury came back with its sentence, decided he needed to do what he could make sure Mr. Anderson never forgets what he'd done.
"It was like nothing I'd ever seen before in my life," he said. "The emotion was just so raw – both families – I can't describe it in words other than the jury was crying, the defense lawyer was crying, prosecutors were crying, and I'm doing my best not to cry."
Although the jury probated his 10-year sentence, judges in such cases are allowed to tack on as much as 180 days in jail time. He was also fined $10,000.
Prosecutors Alex Zocchi and Brandon Birmingham had asked the jury to send Mr. Anderson to prison, pointing out that unlike the victim, Mr. Anderson will still be able to spend holidays with his family.
Mr. Anderson, who had a .14 blood-alcohol content at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to the charge of intoxication manslaughter and went before the jury to assess punishment. In court testimony, Mr. Anderson described taking Ritalin in the 10th grade for attention-deficit disorder. He said he began abusing the drug in college and sought help from his family for the addiction.
Mr. Anderson, who has worked at times for his father's optical and hearing-aid retail business, said he had gone to an Irving nightclub with his girlfriend and was driving home when the wreck occurred. He acknowledged that he was intoxicated but said the accident happened when he looked down to answer a cellphone. When he looked up, he said, he must not have read two traffic signals that are close together on the highway. Phone records showed that he had received a phone call seconds before he placed a call to 911 dispatchers.
After the accident, Mr. Anderson said he became depressed and began abusing painkillers, according to court testimony. He received treatment for prescription drug addiction three times and said he has been sober since February 2004. He testified that he has not driven since the July 2003 accident.
Mr. Birmingham praised the judge's sentence after jurors came back with the probation sentence. "We're disappointed but respect the jury's verdict," he said. "I think it was pretty creative. It was the maximum he could do by law. ... He did everything he could given what the jury did."
Judge stretches out sentence so man remembers dead child
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - After jurors sentenced a 25-year-old Highland Park man to probation for the July 2003 drunk-driving related death of 10-year-old boy, District Judge Vickers Cunningham made sure the driver would not soon forget the pain he caused.
The judge sentenced Rocky F. Anderson to 180 days in jail but stretched the jail term out so Mr. Anderson spends the Christmas holidays and the victim's June birthday behind bars for the next 10 years.
While in jail, Mr. Anderson must write a letter to Braden Hopkins' family each year to mark the child's June birthday.
The jury, clearly moved by Mr. Anderson's remorse, gave him probation. The judge, moved by emotional statements addressed to Mr. Anderson by the child's relatives after the jury came back with its sentence, decided he needed to do what he could make sure Mr. Anderson never forgets what he'd done.
"It was like nothing I'd ever seen before in my life," he said. "The emotion was just so raw – both families – I can't describe it in words other than the jury was crying, the defense lawyer was crying, prosecutors were crying, and I'm doing my best not to cry."
Although the jury probated his 10-year sentence, judges in such cases are allowed to tack on as much as 180 days in jail time. He was also fined $10,000.
Prosecutors Alex Zocchi and Brandon Birmingham had asked the jury to send Mr. Anderson to prison, pointing out that unlike the victim, Mr. Anderson will still be able to spend holidays with his family.
Mr. Anderson, who had a .14 blood-alcohol content at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to the charge of intoxication manslaughter and went before the jury to assess punishment. In court testimony, Mr. Anderson described taking Ritalin in the 10th grade for attention-deficit disorder. He said he began abusing the drug in college and sought help from his family for the addiction.
Mr. Anderson, who has worked at times for his father's optical and hearing-aid retail business, said he had gone to an Irving nightclub with his girlfriend and was driving home when the wreck occurred. He acknowledged that he was intoxicated but said the accident happened when he looked down to answer a cellphone. When he looked up, he said, he must not have read two traffic signals that are close together on the highway. Phone records showed that he had received a phone call seconds before he placed a call to 911 dispatchers.
After the accident, Mr. Anderson said he became depressed and began abusing painkillers, according to court testimony. He received treatment for prescription drug addiction three times and said he has been sober since February 2004. He testified that he has not driven since the July 2003 accident.
Mr. Birmingham praised the judge's sentence after jurors came back with the probation sentence. "We're disappointed but respect the jury's verdict," he said. "I think it was pretty creative. It was the maximum he could do by law. ... He did everything he could given what the jury did."
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Man charged in murder of girl, 11
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Steven Long was charged Sunday with killing an 11-year-old girl who disappeared during a Saturday night sleepover.
A small shrine sits in the carport outside the home of Kaitlyn Smith in a mobile home park on Fish Road in far southeast Dallas. The gifts come from grieving neighbors who were shocked to learn that Kaitlyn accused killer was one of their own.
Steven Long, 33, has been charged with capital murder. He was a houseguest in the same trailer where Kaitlin was spending the night with a friend.
"I didn't even know anyone around here was a suspect or anything," said neighbor Hunter Hatlestad.
Police said Long was in the room next door.
"She was taken into his room sometime during the night, so he probably took her into the room where the murder occurred," said Dallas Police Sgt. Larry Lewis.
Police said the crime was sexually motivated; Kaitlin was hit and strangled and her body was hidden under a trailer nearby. Her grandfather found it during the search.
"This trailer was vacant, and for whatever reason he looked under and saw her body had been placed there," Lewis said.
Long was not a registered sex offender, but does have convictions for attempted murder, drug possession and criminal mischief.
Most neighbors would not talk on camera, but said Long lived with his mother a few trailers down until she kicked him out, at which point other neighbors took him in.
One neighbor called him a thug, but others said he was friendly, and couldn't believe it.
"He was always cool around us," Hatlestad said. "I guess we didn't know him that good."
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Steven Long was charged Sunday with killing an 11-year-old girl who disappeared during a Saturday night sleepover.
A small shrine sits in the carport outside the home of Kaitlyn Smith in a mobile home park on Fish Road in far southeast Dallas. The gifts come from grieving neighbors who were shocked to learn that Kaitlyn accused killer was one of their own.
Steven Long, 33, has been charged with capital murder. He was a houseguest in the same trailer where Kaitlin was spending the night with a friend.
"I didn't even know anyone around here was a suspect or anything," said neighbor Hunter Hatlestad.
Police said Long was in the room next door.
"She was taken into his room sometime during the night, so he probably took her into the room where the murder occurred," said Dallas Police Sgt. Larry Lewis.
Police said the crime was sexually motivated; Kaitlin was hit and strangled and her body was hidden under a trailer nearby. Her grandfather found it during the search.
"This trailer was vacant, and for whatever reason he looked under and saw her body had been placed there," Lewis said.
Long was not a registered sex offender, but does have convictions for attempted murder, drug possession and criminal mischief.
Most neighbors would not talk on camera, but said Long lived with his mother a few trailers down until she kicked him out, at which point other neighbors took him in.
One neighbor called him a thug, but others said he was friendly, and couldn't believe it.
"He was always cool around us," Hatlestad said. "I guess we didn't know him that good."
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Yearbook lists student as 'Black Girl'
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A North Texas school district has apologized to a student who was listed under the name "Black Girl" in a high school yearbook photo of the school's National Honor Society.
All white students are identified by name in the photograph in the Waxahachie High School yearbook, which was distributed on Friday. The teen identified as "Black Girl" is the only black student in the photo.
The label apparently was meant to be a placeholder until the yearbook staff could track down the student's name, district spokeswoman Candace Ahlfinger said in Sunday's edition of the Waxahachie Daily Light.
She said using that label was a poor choice, but it was not meant maliciously and was not meant to be printed.
School board president Joe Langley said a student made the mistake. "I'm sure the student is very sorry," he said.
District administrators and high school faculty members were expected to meet on Monday to discuss the mistake, Ahlfinger said. She said the district probably would make adjustments to the yearbook and yearbook staff to avoid such incidents in the future.
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A North Texas school district has apologized to a student who was listed under the name "Black Girl" in a high school yearbook photo of the school's National Honor Society.
All white students are identified by name in the photograph in the Waxahachie High School yearbook, which was distributed on Friday. The teen identified as "Black Girl" is the only black student in the photo.
The label apparently was meant to be a placeholder until the yearbook staff could track down the student's name, district spokeswoman Candace Ahlfinger said in Sunday's edition of the Waxahachie Daily Light.
She said using that label was a poor choice, but it was not meant maliciously and was not meant to be printed.
School board president Joe Langley said a student made the mistake. "I'm sure the student is very sorry," he said.
District administrators and high school faculty members were expected to meet on Monday to discuss the mistake, Ahlfinger said. She said the district probably would make adjustments to the yearbook and yearbook staff to avoid such incidents in the future.
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Boy drowns at Dallas YMCA branch
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 13-year-old boy drowned at a Dallas YMCA Sunday after he and some friends jumped the fence to take a swim.
About four or five children got into the pool at the Moorland branch on East Ledbetter at Marsalis, but the others ran when the boy ended up on the bottom.
Someone called 911, and firefighters cut through the fence to reach the boy. He later died at Methodist Central Hospital.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas confirmed to News 8 that the branch was closed and gates were locked, and the pool was secure when the drowning happened.
Officials said the entire YMCA family is grieving with the young man's family.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 13-year-old boy drowned at a Dallas YMCA Sunday after he and some friends jumped the fence to take a swim.
About four or five children got into the pool at the Moorland branch on East Ledbetter at Marsalis, but the others ran when the boy ended up on the bottom.
Someone called 911, and firefighters cut through the fence to reach the boy. He later died at Methodist Central Hospital.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas confirmed to News 8 that the branch was closed and gates were locked, and the pool was secure when the drowning happened.
Officials said the entire YMCA family is grieving with the young man's family.
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$66 million Lotto ticket sold in North Richland Hills
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - For the third time this year, a North Texas store has sold a winning lottery ticket.
Lottery officials were waiting to hear from the person who purchased a $66 million Lotto Texas ticket at the Sack 'N Save supermarket in North Richland Hills.
The winning numbers in Saturday night's drawing were 12-18-29-39-40 with Bonus Ball 44.
The North Richland Hills ticket was the only one to match all six numbers, so that person will not have to share the jackpot.
In January, a Tom Thumb supermarket in Garland sold a Lotto Texas ticket worth $35 million before taxes. The group claiming the money said said some of the proceeds would be dedicated to Alzheimer's research and to help a member of the unnamed family suffering from the disease.
In March, a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket sold at Dalrock Grocery in Rowlett netted $68 million for a Rowlett man and his wife.
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - For the third time this year, a North Texas store has sold a winning lottery ticket.
Lottery officials were waiting to hear from the person who purchased a $66 million Lotto Texas ticket at the Sack 'N Save supermarket in North Richland Hills.
The winning numbers in Saturday night's drawing were 12-18-29-39-40 with Bonus Ball 44.
The North Richland Hills ticket was the only one to match all six numbers, so that person will not have to share the jackpot.
In January, a Tom Thumb supermarket in Garland sold a Lotto Texas ticket worth $35 million before taxes. The group claiming the money said said some of the proceeds would be dedicated to Alzheimer's research and to help a member of the unnamed family suffering from the disease.
In March, a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket sold at Dalrock Grocery in Rowlett netted $68 million for a Rowlett man and his wife.
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Families displaced in Terrell fire
TERREL, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - At least a dozen people were left homeless in Terrell early Saturday after fire gutted their apartment building.
The fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. at the Virginia Anne apartment complex in the 100 block of Lovers Lane.
Terrell police were first at the scene, and they were able to evacuate the building.
A short time later, firefighters rescued a dog from the burning structure.
The American Red Cross was providing assistance for the eight families who were displaced.
Terrell Fire Department spokesman Steve Howie said the units on the second floor were a total loss; the first foor apartments suffered mostly smoke and water damage.
No one was hurt.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Units from the Kaufman and Forney fire departments provided assistance.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Robert Flagg contributed to this report.
TERREL, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - At least a dozen people were left homeless in Terrell early Saturday after fire gutted their apartment building.
The fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. at the Virginia Anne apartment complex in the 100 block of Lovers Lane.
Terrell police were first at the scene, and they were able to evacuate the building.
A short time later, firefighters rescued a dog from the burning structure.
The American Red Cross was providing assistance for the eight families who were displaced.
Terrell Fire Department spokesman Steve Howie said the units on the second floor were a total loss; the first foor apartments suffered mostly smoke and water damage.
No one was hurt.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Units from the Kaufman and Forney fire departments provided assistance.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Robert Flagg contributed to this report.
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Car runs into house; 2 hospitalized
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A suspected drunk driver slammed into a Grapevine home Friday night, critically injuring a 16-year-old girl inside.
The crash happened around 6:45 p.m. near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Timberline Drive. Detectives at the scene said a 23-year-old man was likely speeding on Tanglewood when he crashed through a backyard fence and through the wall of a home in the 2700 block of Greenbrook.
The four-door Honda went flying into the house's living room before coming to a stop in the kitchen.. The girl, laying on a couch at the time of the crash, was seriously injured from flying debris and impact; she was flown by medical helicopter to a Dallas hospital.
The driver was taken by a ground ambulance with minor injuries to Parkland Hospital. The father of the 16-year-old was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises; the girl's mother escaped without any serious injuries.
Police believe alcohol and speed played a role in the crash. Charges have not been filed against the driver since he remains hospitalized.
The homeowners will now have to find an alternate place to stay, since authorities have deemed the house structurally unsafe.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A suspected drunk driver slammed into a Grapevine home Friday night, critically injuring a 16-year-old girl inside.
The crash happened around 6:45 p.m. near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Timberline Drive. Detectives at the scene said a 23-year-old man was likely speeding on Tanglewood when he crashed through a backyard fence and through the wall of a home in the 2700 block of Greenbrook.
The four-door Honda went flying into the house's living room before coming to a stop in the kitchen.. The girl, laying on a couch at the time of the crash, was seriously injured from flying debris and impact; she was flown by medical helicopter to a Dallas hospital.
The driver was taken by a ground ambulance with minor injuries to Parkland Hospital. The father of the 16-year-old was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises; the girl's mother escaped without any serious injuries.
Police believe alcohol and speed played a role in the crash. Charges have not been filed against the driver since he remains hospitalized.
The homeowners will now have to find an alternate place to stay, since authorities have deemed the house structurally unsafe.
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In hunt for summer jobs, heat is on
Work opportunities scarce for teens, despite stronger hiring trends
By STEVE QUINN / The Dallas Morning News
FRISCO, Texas – Seventeen-year-old Mitchell Bartz applied for 23 jobs before he landed a summer job behind the counter at the Cold Stone Creamery on Main Street here.
Sarah Sadiq, also 17, succeeded on her first try but still had to beat out four others for a job at the same ice cream shop.
Their efforts illustrate what job search executives and labor analysts are seeing: Despite stronger hiring trends, the summer job market for North Texas teens has loosened only slightly since last year.
"Probably the last people to benefit in an economic recovery are the teens," said Cheryl Abbot, an analyst with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Dallas. "Even though overall unemployment is on the decline, we haven't quite seen that yet among the teen group."
Texas and the nation have seen compounded annual employment growth of 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, since 2000. But Dallas-Fort Worth lags behind with a 0.2 percent decline, according to West Virginia research firm Economy.com.
The national uptick notwithstanding, summer hiring for teens has been slow to accelerate in general, some analysts say.
"Employers have shifted hiring from teenagers in a big way – and there is no real evidence of it picking up – so, unfortunately, it will be a weak summer for teens," said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. "Nothing changes dramatically in two months."
Last year, seasonally adjusted employment nationwide for teens, ages 16 to 19, ranged from 36.1 percent in June to 36.6 percent in August, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Five years ago, it was as high as 45.9 percent during the summer, but it hasn't been above 40 percent since July 2001.
Last year, Mr. Sum predicted the summer employment rate would reach 36.7, but he overestimated by three-tenths of a percentage point. This year, he predicts a 36.5 percent rate.
Shawn Boyer, chief executive for SnagAJob.com, is slightly more optimistic because of increased activity on his company's job board, which specializes in part-time and full-time hourly employment.
"I saw a study saying that we are producing jobs a little bit better but not much," he said. "That's somewhat at odds with what we are seeing so far, but it takes a while for the process to work itself down to the teens."
Several forces have worked in sync in recent years to reduce teen hiring:
•Out-of-work professionals have grabbed summer jobs, though many are returning to regular jobs as hiring picks up. If this continues, analysts say, it could be the driver that ultimately opens doors for teens.
•College graduates who haven't found full-time work have been taking hourly jobs from teens who cannot commit to the job beyond August. As the market opens for grads, this, too, may create opportunities for teens.
•Discouraged teens have stepped out of the competition for jobs, with some enrolling in summer classes instead.
All recur during economic downturns and recoveries. But another factor that may continue to pressure teen employment isn't going away – the immigrant workforce.
"Some people would rather hire full-time immigrants than part-time teenagers," said Northeastern University's Mr. Sum.
Mr. Boyer of SnagAJob.com said the additional burden on teens should force them to be more enterprising in their search efforts.
"No question, the last several years have been atrocious for teens," he said. "So, you can't just walk door-to-door. You need to look in the paper and go online to see what's out there."
The door-to-door method happened to pay off for Cold Stone employees Mitchell, of Oak Point, and Sarah, of Frisco.
Last year, Mitchell and Sarah earned money landscaping lawns and baby-sitting, respectively, but believed they needed real-world experience this summer.
"I figured I had to have a real job," Mitchell said. "I already know I can work for myself, but I don't want to be 18 and have no work experience."
As summer hours expand, employers rely on the hourly workforce, whose pay ranges from minimum wage of $5.15 to $17 per hour, depending on the job.
Often overlooked are the teen workforce's long-term value to the employer and the work's value to teens' development. The summer tenure may be an unintended apprenticeship for career employment.
Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington beefs up its summer force with an additional 2,500 employees, made up of teens, college students and retirees looking for supplemental income.
Marian Beuhler, director of administration at Six Flags, is in her 30th year with one of the area's largest seasonal employers.
"I started as a dolphin trainer," said Ms. Beuhler, who graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in political science. "I came back every year and then stayed."
Cinemark's Tinseltown theater in Plano may have hired a future manager in Daniel Gonzalez, a 17-year-old Carrollton resident, now a junior who attends Winfree Academy Charter School in Lewisville.
Daniel, a concessionaire earning $8 an hour, arrived at Cinemark with rare credentials for a teen. He had references and job experience in the retail world.
"I'll be 18 this summer, and that's old enough to be one of the managers," he said. "So once school is over, I'll work as much as they let me."
Work opportunities scarce for teens, despite stronger hiring trends
By STEVE QUINN / The Dallas Morning News
FRISCO, Texas – Seventeen-year-old Mitchell Bartz applied for 23 jobs before he landed a summer job behind the counter at the Cold Stone Creamery on Main Street here.
Sarah Sadiq, also 17, succeeded on her first try but still had to beat out four others for a job at the same ice cream shop.
Their efforts illustrate what job search executives and labor analysts are seeing: Despite stronger hiring trends, the summer job market for North Texas teens has loosened only slightly since last year.
"Probably the last people to benefit in an economic recovery are the teens," said Cheryl Abbot, an analyst with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Dallas. "Even though overall unemployment is on the decline, we haven't quite seen that yet among the teen group."
Texas and the nation have seen compounded annual employment growth of 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, since 2000. But Dallas-Fort Worth lags behind with a 0.2 percent decline, according to West Virginia research firm Economy.com.
The national uptick notwithstanding, summer hiring for teens has been slow to accelerate in general, some analysts say.
"Employers have shifted hiring from teenagers in a big way – and there is no real evidence of it picking up – so, unfortunately, it will be a weak summer for teens," said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. "Nothing changes dramatically in two months."
Last year, seasonally adjusted employment nationwide for teens, ages 16 to 19, ranged from 36.1 percent in June to 36.6 percent in August, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Five years ago, it was as high as 45.9 percent during the summer, but it hasn't been above 40 percent since July 2001.
Last year, Mr. Sum predicted the summer employment rate would reach 36.7, but he overestimated by three-tenths of a percentage point. This year, he predicts a 36.5 percent rate.
Shawn Boyer, chief executive for SnagAJob.com, is slightly more optimistic because of increased activity on his company's job board, which specializes in part-time and full-time hourly employment.
"I saw a study saying that we are producing jobs a little bit better but not much," he said. "That's somewhat at odds with what we are seeing so far, but it takes a while for the process to work itself down to the teens."
Several forces have worked in sync in recent years to reduce teen hiring:
•Out-of-work professionals have grabbed summer jobs, though many are returning to regular jobs as hiring picks up. If this continues, analysts say, it could be the driver that ultimately opens doors for teens.
•College graduates who haven't found full-time work have been taking hourly jobs from teens who cannot commit to the job beyond August. As the market opens for grads, this, too, may create opportunities for teens.
•Discouraged teens have stepped out of the competition for jobs, with some enrolling in summer classes instead.
All recur during economic downturns and recoveries. But another factor that may continue to pressure teen employment isn't going away – the immigrant workforce.
"Some people would rather hire full-time immigrants than part-time teenagers," said Northeastern University's Mr. Sum.
Mr. Boyer of SnagAJob.com said the additional burden on teens should force them to be more enterprising in their search efforts.
"No question, the last several years have been atrocious for teens," he said. "So, you can't just walk door-to-door. You need to look in the paper and go online to see what's out there."
The door-to-door method happened to pay off for Cold Stone employees Mitchell, of Oak Point, and Sarah, of Frisco.
Last year, Mitchell and Sarah earned money landscaping lawns and baby-sitting, respectively, but believed they needed real-world experience this summer.
"I figured I had to have a real job," Mitchell said. "I already know I can work for myself, but I don't want to be 18 and have no work experience."
As summer hours expand, employers rely on the hourly workforce, whose pay ranges from minimum wage of $5.15 to $17 per hour, depending on the job.
Often overlooked are the teen workforce's long-term value to the employer and the work's value to teens' development. The summer tenure may be an unintended apprenticeship for career employment.
Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington beefs up its summer force with an additional 2,500 employees, made up of teens, college students and retirees looking for supplemental income.
Marian Beuhler, director of administration at Six Flags, is in her 30th year with one of the area's largest seasonal employers.
"I started as a dolphin trainer," said Ms. Beuhler, who graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in political science. "I came back every year and then stayed."
Cinemark's Tinseltown theater in Plano may have hired a future manager in Daniel Gonzalez, a 17-year-old Carrollton resident, now a junior who attends Winfree Academy Charter School in Lewisville.
Daniel, a concessionaire earning $8 an hour, arrived at Cinemark with rare credentials for a teen. He had references and job experience in the retail world.
"I'll be 18 this summer, and that's old enough to be one of the managers," he said. "So once school is over, I'll work as much as they let me."
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TexasStooge
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Dallas PD helicopters needed, but how?
Police seek $7 million for fleet; Suhm says budget tight already
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - As the Dallas Police Department's aging helicopters are grounded for repairs again and again, plans to replace them are up in the air.
Police officials plan to ask the city to borrow about $7 million to $7.5 million to buy three new helicopters when they present their budget requests next month.
But the acting city manager says she is still exploring financing options, as the city focuses on replacing patrol cars, hiring officers and getting equipment to the cops on the street.
"Helicopters are up there pretty high, but they aren't No. 1," said Mary Suhm. "I'm going to do everything I can to get them in."
Police helicopters play an important role in fighting crime, finding fleeing suspects, spotting stolen cars dumped in lakes and stopping dangerous car chases.
The Dallas Morning News reported in February that the fleet of four helicopters – the second oldest among the nation's 30 largest cities – is finding fewer criminals, missing people, stolen cars and fires as the helicopters remain in the hangar for maintenance.
An internal police review last year said the helicopters are "ready to fall out of the sky," and an independent report said it is not cost-effective to maintain the aging helicopters.
Two helicopters are out of service – one for a regular inspection (about two weeks) and one for an engine overhaul (about two months). Police are limiting the use of a third helicopter, to delay its engine overhaul until next fiscal year and stay within their budget.
Last Monday, three of the four helicopters were grounded for an entire shift.
"Our helicopters are getting old," said Jennifer Li, who as executive assistant director manages the police budget. "A new fleet will enhance our operational ability. They can fly longer hours, and they can help patrol."
Ms. Li said she would propose that the city issue equipment acquisition notes, which would be paid back with interest over 10 years.
But Dallas City Council members said they would also consider municipal leasing programs, private donations and federal grants.
Council member Elba Garcia, who heads the public safety committee, has enlisted U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, to help the city get grant funding for the helicopters.
"Cross your fingers. Cross your fingers," she said. "He didn't promise anything, but definitely he knows the needs, and I think we're really ready to work together."
Because helicopters are expensive, a new one costs about $2.3 million to $2.5 million not including parts and repairs, it is unlikely that the city will use the annual police budget to cover the cost of replacing the fleet.
Instead, the city estimates that it will spend $4 million for police equipment and $1.6 million to hire 50 new officers and cover attrition in the 2005-06 budget.
Ms. Li said the police priorities include motorcycles, Taser batteries, AR-15 gun mounts for squad cars and vehicle cages that protect officers when they transport prisoners.
Ms. Suhm is developing her budget proposal and said she hasn't figured out yet how to purchase the police helicopters.
"There are zillions of ways to do it, and I want to find the most economical, most effective way to do it," she said.
Police seek $7 million for fleet; Suhm says budget tight already
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - As the Dallas Police Department's aging helicopters are grounded for repairs again and again, plans to replace them are up in the air.
Police officials plan to ask the city to borrow about $7 million to $7.5 million to buy three new helicopters when they present their budget requests next month.
But the acting city manager says she is still exploring financing options, as the city focuses on replacing patrol cars, hiring officers and getting equipment to the cops on the street.
"Helicopters are up there pretty high, but they aren't No. 1," said Mary Suhm. "I'm going to do everything I can to get them in."
Police helicopters play an important role in fighting crime, finding fleeing suspects, spotting stolen cars dumped in lakes and stopping dangerous car chases.
The Dallas Morning News reported in February that the fleet of four helicopters – the second oldest among the nation's 30 largest cities – is finding fewer criminals, missing people, stolen cars and fires as the helicopters remain in the hangar for maintenance.
An internal police review last year said the helicopters are "ready to fall out of the sky," and an independent report said it is not cost-effective to maintain the aging helicopters.
Two helicopters are out of service – one for a regular inspection (about two weeks) and one for an engine overhaul (about two months). Police are limiting the use of a third helicopter, to delay its engine overhaul until next fiscal year and stay within their budget.
Last Monday, three of the four helicopters were grounded for an entire shift.
"Our helicopters are getting old," said Jennifer Li, who as executive assistant director manages the police budget. "A new fleet will enhance our operational ability. They can fly longer hours, and they can help patrol."
Ms. Li said she would propose that the city issue equipment acquisition notes, which would be paid back with interest over 10 years.
But Dallas City Council members said they would also consider municipal leasing programs, private donations and federal grants.
Council member Elba Garcia, who heads the public safety committee, has enlisted U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, to help the city get grant funding for the helicopters.
"Cross your fingers. Cross your fingers," she said. "He didn't promise anything, but definitely he knows the needs, and I think we're really ready to work together."
Because helicopters are expensive, a new one costs about $2.3 million to $2.5 million not including parts and repairs, it is unlikely that the city will use the annual police budget to cover the cost of replacing the fleet.
Instead, the city estimates that it will spend $4 million for police equipment and $1.6 million to hire 50 new officers and cover attrition in the 2005-06 budget.
Ms. Li said the police priorities include motorcycles, Taser batteries, AR-15 gun mounts for squad cars and vehicle cages that protect officers when they transport prisoners.
Ms. Suhm is developing her budget proposal and said she hasn't figured out yet how to purchase the police helicopters.
"There are zillions of ways to do it, and I want to find the most economical, most effective way to do it," she said.
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TexasStooge
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Fortune seekers on trail of Confederate stash
Parts of Oklahoma, Texas viewed as rich for treasure stashed by diehard Dixies
By ARNOLD HAMILTON / The Dallas Morning News
CEMENT, Okla./AUSTIN, Texas – Bud Hardcastle and Charlie Holman figure the Confederacy never truly surrendered. Its leaders simply buried their dreams for the day the South would rise again.
After 30 years of research, Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman are convinced that enterprising disciples of Dixie stashed millions of dollars in gold and silver – now probably worth billions – in locations across North America, including Oklahoma and possibly northeast Texas, to help finance a second Civil War.
"The true story of the South's never been told," said Mr. Holman, a balding, 56-year-old denturist and former three-time state high school wrestling champion. "A lot of Southerners know the story, but they've not told anyone."
Enough buried booty has been recovered over the last century to ignite a prairie fire of interest in treasure hunting – hundreds of real-life Indiana Joneses scouring remote terrain from Canada to Mexico for what they believe is a mother lode of antique coins and rare documents.
It's an oft-quirky subculture that deploys high-tech gear and old-fashioned detective work in a quest to unravel the secrets of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-South society credited with masterminding the elaborate underground financial network.
"The money would be wonderful, but I set out to prove the truth," said Mr. Hardcastle, a portly, 66-year-old used car dealer who learned of the secretive pro-South group through his fascination with legendary outlaw Jesse James. Mr. Hardcastle now thinks that Jesse James, a Missouri guerrilla fighter during the Civil War and train and bank robber afterward, was "comptroller of the KGC." He says he thinks that finding the loot could also help him determine the truth about how – and when – the outlaw actually died.
According to some treasure hunters, burial was the surest means at the time of protecting the fortune that included gold and silver from the Confederate treasury, donations from Southern sympathizers, war-time raids on northern banks and post-war robberies.
No single ledger or document has been recovered that details the extent of the earthen deposits. But treasure hunters said they have uncovered evidence of an intricate, geometric grid system used to determine the locations of hidden loot across North America.
Further, they said, it appears the Knights of the Golden Circle built a network of sentries who knew the location of each cache, protected it during their lifetimes, then shared the information with subsequent generations.
On a recent spring day, Mr. Holman and Mr. Hardcastle hiked to near the summit of Buzzard's Roost, a peculiar, rocky hill near this tiny burg, about 65 miles from Oklahoma City.
Amid a howling, 40-mph-plus wind, they described four different discoveries of buried treasure since early 1900s, all within a quarter-mile of the southwestern Oklahoma landmark.
They also pointed out what they believe are coded messages carved into rock that the Knights may have left as clues.
"This was a hot spot," Mr. Hardcastle said. "This was Indian Territory – it was a good place for them to come" because it offered an almost unlimited number of hideouts and few authorities.
As they scaled Buzzard's Roost, Mr. Holman and Mr. Hardcastle looked less like the dashing figures of Hollywood's Indiana Jones trilogy than the crotchety, but charming characters of Grumpy Old Men.
But these men are serious. They've devoted more than 30 years – and more than $100,000 each – to chasing the secrets of the South, hoping to unravel mysteries that involve clandestine networks of Confederate loyalists, Southern sympathizers in the North and bandits like James.
In his pursuit of Jesse James, Mr. Hardcastle spent about $9,000 on legal fees that led to the exhumation in Granbury, Texas, of what he thought was James' body. It wasn't, but he now believes that the grave was misidentified by one plot.
Now, he figures his pursuit of the Knights of the Golden Circle treasure may be a faster route to the truth about Jesse James.
It's a two-fisted, hard-nosed world where few are willing to talk much abut their successes or join forces, afraid they'll be double-crossed and lose out on a discovery.
Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman said they learned hard lessons about sharing information: In one case, other treasure hunters they befriended went behind their backs and unearthed the loot. All Mr. Hardcastle got from the discovery was an 1880 silver dollar.
"Ninety-eight percent of treasure hunters," Mr. Holman said, "aren't worth the powder it would take to blow their butt off."
Another time, about a decade ago, Mr. Hardcastle was asked by a landowner to search his land and found an old Wells Fargo safe. He was asked to leave before the safe was opened, but he said he believed it contained KGC money.
As far as any other treasures he may have discovered, Mr. Hardcastle said, "If I did [find any], I wouldn't own up to it."
He and Mr. Hardcastle joined forces in 1988. Since then, they've clomped through overgrown fields together, dodging rattlesnakes and mountain lions. They've climbed hills and small mountains to study signs of Knight activity. Mr. Hardcastle even lowered Mr. Holman 15 feet by rope into a dark cave believed to be a Jesse James hideout where treasure could be buried, but much of it had caved in.
Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman are working several promising leads, using newly acquired night cameras to investigate particularly dense, rugged areas. Neither will say where.
After that, there are some potential areas to investigate in northeast Texas, he said. He noted that Jesse James supposedly worked both sides of the Red River, making southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas of particular interest.
Bob Brewer, an Arkansas-based treasure hunter who co-authored the book Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, said he, too, believes he is close to a major breakthrough.
But he declined, for now, to be interviewed at length – at least in part, he said, because treasure hunting can be dangerous.
"People will kill you for a six-pack of beer," he said.
Parts of Oklahoma, Texas viewed as rich for treasure stashed by diehard Dixies
By ARNOLD HAMILTON / The Dallas Morning News
CEMENT, Okla./AUSTIN, Texas – Bud Hardcastle and Charlie Holman figure the Confederacy never truly surrendered. Its leaders simply buried their dreams for the day the South would rise again.
After 30 years of research, Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman are convinced that enterprising disciples of Dixie stashed millions of dollars in gold and silver – now probably worth billions – in locations across North America, including Oklahoma and possibly northeast Texas, to help finance a second Civil War.
"The true story of the South's never been told," said Mr. Holman, a balding, 56-year-old denturist and former three-time state high school wrestling champion. "A lot of Southerners know the story, but they've not told anyone."
Enough buried booty has been recovered over the last century to ignite a prairie fire of interest in treasure hunting – hundreds of real-life Indiana Joneses scouring remote terrain from Canada to Mexico for what they believe is a mother lode of antique coins and rare documents.
It's an oft-quirky subculture that deploys high-tech gear and old-fashioned detective work in a quest to unravel the secrets of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-South society credited with masterminding the elaborate underground financial network.
"The money would be wonderful, but I set out to prove the truth," said Mr. Hardcastle, a portly, 66-year-old used car dealer who learned of the secretive pro-South group through his fascination with legendary outlaw Jesse James. Mr. Hardcastle now thinks that Jesse James, a Missouri guerrilla fighter during the Civil War and train and bank robber afterward, was "comptroller of the KGC." He says he thinks that finding the loot could also help him determine the truth about how – and when – the outlaw actually died.
According to some treasure hunters, burial was the surest means at the time of protecting the fortune that included gold and silver from the Confederate treasury, donations from Southern sympathizers, war-time raids on northern banks and post-war robberies.
No single ledger or document has been recovered that details the extent of the earthen deposits. But treasure hunters said they have uncovered evidence of an intricate, geometric grid system used to determine the locations of hidden loot across North America.
Further, they said, it appears the Knights of the Golden Circle built a network of sentries who knew the location of each cache, protected it during their lifetimes, then shared the information with subsequent generations.
On a recent spring day, Mr. Holman and Mr. Hardcastle hiked to near the summit of Buzzard's Roost, a peculiar, rocky hill near this tiny burg, about 65 miles from Oklahoma City.
Amid a howling, 40-mph-plus wind, they described four different discoveries of buried treasure since early 1900s, all within a quarter-mile of the southwestern Oklahoma landmark.
They also pointed out what they believe are coded messages carved into rock that the Knights may have left as clues.
"This was a hot spot," Mr. Hardcastle said. "This was Indian Territory – it was a good place for them to come" because it offered an almost unlimited number of hideouts and few authorities.
As they scaled Buzzard's Roost, Mr. Holman and Mr. Hardcastle looked less like the dashing figures of Hollywood's Indiana Jones trilogy than the crotchety, but charming characters of Grumpy Old Men.
But these men are serious. They've devoted more than 30 years – and more than $100,000 each – to chasing the secrets of the South, hoping to unravel mysteries that involve clandestine networks of Confederate loyalists, Southern sympathizers in the North and bandits like James.
In his pursuit of Jesse James, Mr. Hardcastle spent about $9,000 on legal fees that led to the exhumation in Granbury, Texas, of what he thought was James' body. It wasn't, but he now believes that the grave was misidentified by one plot.
Now, he figures his pursuit of the Knights of the Golden Circle treasure may be a faster route to the truth about Jesse James.
It's a two-fisted, hard-nosed world where few are willing to talk much abut their successes or join forces, afraid they'll be double-crossed and lose out on a discovery.
Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman said they learned hard lessons about sharing information: In one case, other treasure hunters they befriended went behind their backs and unearthed the loot. All Mr. Hardcastle got from the discovery was an 1880 silver dollar.
"Ninety-eight percent of treasure hunters," Mr. Holman said, "aren't worth the powder it would take to blow their butt off."
Another time, about a decade ago, Mr. Hardcastle was asked by a landowner to search his land and found an old Wells Fargo safe. He was asked to leave before the safe was opened, but he said he believed it contained KGC money.
As far as any other treasures he may have discovered, Mr. Hardcastle said, "If I did [find any], I wouldn't own up to it."
He and Mr. Hardcastle joined forces in 1988. Since then, they've clomped through overgrown fields together, dodging rattlesnakes and mountain lions. They've climbed hills and small mountains to study signs of Knight activity. Mr. Hardcastle even lowered Mr. Holman 15 feet by rope into a dark cave believed to be a Jesse James hideout where treasure could be buried, but much of it had caved in.
Mr. Hardcastle and Mr. Holman are working several promising leads, using newly acquired night cameras to investigate particularly dense, rugged areas. Neither will say where.
After that, there are some potential areas to investigate in northeast Texas, he said. He noted that Jesse James supposedly worked both sides of the Red River, making southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas of particular interest.
Bob Brewer, an Arkansas-based treasure hunter who co-authored the book Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, said he, too, believes he is close to a major breakthrough.
But he declined, for now, to be interviewed at length – at least in part, he said, because treasure hunting can be dangerous.
"People will kill you for a six-pack of beer," he said.
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TexasStooge
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Director returns to grade school
Irving: Pupils put on 'King and I' with help of Steven Jones
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The king of Lyric Stage was scheduled to work a little of his magic last night at Brandenburg Elementary School. Steven Jones returned to the school he attended to direct a group of fifth-graders and kindergartners in a musical about a king and a teacher. He and music teacher Janet James worked together to present Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I for the school's end-of-the-year PTA program.
Mr. Jones took time out of a busy schedule to give back to his school for several reasons, he explained.
"The goal is to teach the kids about musical theater as well as to help build their self-confidence," he said. He admitted that "there is not enough time to get the production on its feet, but they can at least learn the basics about being on stage."
He would love to see musical theater introduced at the elementary level. He credits two teachers at Brandenburg with inspiring his love of the arts. "We did the classics, like Beowulf and Macbeth, in the fourth grade," he said.
With this production, the fifth-graders received a taste of a classic musical. "We have never done a musical before," said Mrs. James.
She said she and Mr. Jones attend the same church, and when she approached him about the idea, he was eager to help. He had a little free time because his Lyric Stage production of Ragtime had just ended a three-week run at the Irving Arts Center.
Mrs. James worked on the songs in music classes, and Mr. Jones led rehearsals for the last few weeks. The students rehearsed during physical education and arts class periods, so they did not miss any academic classes.
Art teacher Sheila Morgan made the costumes and props, and her assistant, Ryder Richards, painted the set. Assistant music teacher Jetawone Prestwood worked with Mrs. James on the musical numbers.
To help the students prepare, Mrs. James showed them the movie version starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. "It was good," said Serena Villegas. "I really liked the characters."
She and her two friends, Isabel Jimenez and Shyane Sanchez, worked behind the scenes on makeup and hairstyling.
James Pitcher played the king, but he did not shave his head. He said the worst part of the role was "having so many lines and the dance parts." But he said acting is "really cool."
Kayla Mitchell raved about James and predicts "he will be a famous actor some day." She hopes to be "a singer, like Alicia Keys." She and Tatiana Barahona sang Mrs. James' favorite song in the play, Something Wonderful.
They said the song was hard, but they had fun. Many of the young actors credited Mr. Jones with making it a good experience.
"He's great, and he's cool," said Nicole Salazar, a dancer.
"He's funny and makes you feel comfortable," said Krystal Pike, one of the king's many wives.
"There were some real neat moments," said Mr. Jones about the young actors he tried to inspire. Maybe one of those moments will spark a career like his own.
Irving: Pupils put on 'King and I' with help of Steven Jones
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The king of Lyric Stage was scheduled to work a little of his magic last night at Brandenburg Elementary School. Steven Jones returned to the school he attended to direct a group of fifth-graders and kindergartners in a musical about a king and a teacher. He and music teacher Janet James worked together to present Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I for the school's end-of-the-year PTA program.
Mr. Jones took time out of a busy schedule to give back to his school for several reasons, he explained.
"The goal is to teach the kids about musical theater as well as to help build their self-confidence," he said. He admitted that "there is not enough time to get the production on its feet, but they can at least learn the basics about being on stage."
He would love to see musical theater introduced at the elementary level. He credits two teachers at Brandenburg with inspiring his love of the arts. "We did the classics, like Beowulf and Macbeth, in the fourth grade," he said.
With this production, the fifth-graders received a taste of a classic musical. "We have never done a musical before," said Mrs. James.
She said she and Mr. Jones attend the same church, and when she approached him about the idea, he was eager to help. He had a little free time because his Lyric Stage production of Ragtime had just ended a three-week run at the Irving Arts Center.
Mrs. James worked on the songs in music classes, and Mr. Jones led rehearsals for the last few weeks. The students rehearsed during physical education and arts class periods, so they did not miss any academic classes.
Art teacher Sheila Morgan made the costumes and props, and her assistant, Ryder Richards, painted the set. Assistant music teacher Jetawone Prestwood worked with Mrs. James on the musical numbers.
To help the students prepare, Mrs. James showed them the movie version starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. "It was good," said Serena Villegas. "I really liked the characters."
She and her two friends, Isabel Jimenez and Shyane Sanchez, worked behind the scenes on makeup and hairstyling.
James Pitcher played the king, but he did not shave his head. He said the worst part of the role was "having so many lines and the dance parts." But he said acting is "really cool."
Kayla Mitchell raved about James and predicts "he will be a famous actor some day." She hopes to be "a singer, like Alicia Keys." She and Tatiana Barahona sang Mrs. James' favorite song in the play, Something Wonderful.
They said the song was hard, but they had fun. Many of the young actors credited Mr. Jones with making it a good experience.
"He's great, and he's cool," said Nicole Salazar, a dancer.
"He's funny and makes you feel comfortable," said Krystal Pike, one of the king's many wives.
"There were some real neat moments," said Mr. Jones about the young actors he tried to inspire. Maybe one of those moments will spark a career like his own.
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TexasStooge
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Purdy achieved, and so did grads
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Two big events took place in Irving on Sunday. While one person earned more than $1 million, others received the keys to their future.
Ted Purdy of Phoenix won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship a few hours after 300 graduates accepted their degrees at the University of Dallas.
Despite being 173 in world rankings, Mr. Purdy won the grand prize over several top-ranked players.
What holds true for golf holds true for education. Success does not always go only to top-ranked graduates. It's the education that matters and the ability to keep trying.
At commencement exercises, university President Frank Lazarus spoke about the importance of a college degree and a liberal arts education. Valedictorian Louis J. "Jamie" Antonelli of Omaha, Neb., gave a speech on how the university prepared him well for life after college.
The university conferred an honorary doctorate on the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur. The sisters helped revive the university in 1955. Sisters Dorothy Powers, Cecile Faget, St. John Begnaud and Margin Joseph Jones accepted the degree.
Dr. Joanne Stroud received the Athena Award for her achievements. A former adjunct professor of English, she is a co-founder of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, a published author and lecturer.
A poignant moment occurred when the university conferred a posthumous baccalaureate degree to Blanche Cole, a student who pursued a degree on and off for about 50 years. Her thesis was accepted in October, but she died a month later. Her family accepted the degree in her honor.
Byron becomes a 'Fellow'
In honor of the 60th anniversary of Byron Nelson's 11 straight PGA Tour victories in 1945, the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau named golf legend Byron Nelson an Irving Schools Foundation Fellow. The Fellow recognition means Mr. Nelson's name will be engraved on a perpetual giving tree in the atrium of the Irving school district's administration building.
"We hope this permanent marker serves as a reminder for generations to come how this remarkable man's off-course accomplishments transcended his unmatched, recording-breaking streak in 1945," said Maura Gast, ICVB executive director.
The foundation will recognize its newest fellow at its annual "Breakfast with the Stars," which is held every April at the Four Seasons Resort and Club, the tournament's home.
Teachers meet golfer
Six Irving school district staffers had the chance to meet one of the Nelson golfers at a lunch at the Four Seasons Resort and Club. The two staffers and four teachers dined with Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy. The couple founded the Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy and selected 20 third- through fifth-grade teachers in both the Dallas and Irving school districts to participate. They will join about 200 other teachers in the program, which will be held this summer in Fairfax, Va.
The Irving contingent includes Sandy Turner, instructional specialist; Lauren Cooper, fifth-grade teacher at Thomas Haley Elementary; Jacque Garcia, elementary math and science coordinator; Susan Rice, fifth-grade teacher at John Haley Elementary; Shannon Cole, fourth-grade teacher at Brown Elementary; and Mikie Kindsfather, fourth-grade teacher at Keyes Elementary.
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Two big events took place in Irving on Sunday. While one person earned more than $1 million, others received the keys to their future.
Ted Purdy of Phoenix won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship a few hours after 300 graduates accepted their degrees at the University of Dallas.
Despite being 173 in world rankings, Mr. Purdy won the grand prize over several top-ranked players.
What holds true for golf holds true for education. Success does not always go only to top-ranked graduates. It's the education that matters and the ability to keep trying.
At commencement exercises, university President Frank Lazarus spoke about the importance of a college degree and a liberal arts education. Valedictorian Louis J. "Jamie" Antonelli of Omaha, Neb., gave a speech on how the university prepared him well for life after college.
The university conferred an honorary doctorate on the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur. The sisters helped revive the university in 1955. Sisters Dorothy Powers, Cecile Faget, St. John Begnaud and Margin Joseph Jones accepted the degree.
Dr. Joanne Stroud received the Athena Award for her achievements. A former adjunct professor of English, she is a co-founder of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, a published author and lecturer.
A poignant moment occurred when the university conferred a posthumous baccalaureate degree to Blanche Cole, a student who pursued a degree on and off for about 50 years. Her thesis was accepted in October, but she died a month later. Her family accepted the degree in her honor.
Byron becomes a 'Fellow'
In honor of the 60th anniversary of Byron Nelson's 11 straight PGA Tour victories in 1945, the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau named golf legend Byron Nelson an Irving Schools Foundation Fellow. The Fellow recognition means Mr. Nelson's name will be engraved on a perpetual giving tree in the atrium of the Irving school district's administration building.
"We hope this permanent marker serves as a reminder for generations to come how this remarkable man's off-course accomplishments transcended his unmatched, recording-breaking streak in 1945," said Maura Gast, ICVB executive director.
The foundation will recognize its newest fellow at its annual "Breakfast with the Stars," which is held every April at the Four Seasons Resort and Club, the tournament's home.
Teachers meet golfer
Six Irving school district staffers had the chance to meet one of the Nelson golfers at a lunch at the Four Seasons Resort and Club. The two staffers and four teachers dined with Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy. The couple founded the Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy and selected 20 third- through fifth-grade teachers in both the Dallas and Irving school districts to participate. They will join about 200 other teachers in the program, which will be held this summer in Fairfax, Va.
The Irving contingent includes Sandy Turner, instructional specialist; Lauren Cooper, fifth-grade teacher at Thomas Haley Elementary; Jacque Garcia, elementary math and science coordinator; Susan Rice, fifth-grade teacher at John Haley Elementary; Shannon Cole, fourth-grade teacher at Brown Elementary; and Mikie Kindsfather, fourth-grade teacher at Keyes Elementary.
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TexasStooge
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For middle school, spring is just ducky
Irving: With mothers, babies around, lessons are always hatching
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Sassy Sally and Missy Frissy have made Crockett Middle School in Irving their springtime home.
The two mother ducks arrived in late February, laying their eggs after spring break – just in time for students to observe. English teacher Tiffany Holmes said that some of the science teachers take advantage of the ducks' presence to teach about life cycles.
"We all watch them hatch, but you'd be surprised how long it takes," Ms. Holmes said. "It can take about two hours for the ducklings to break out of their shells. We almost feel like helping them peel off the shell because it takes so long."
Ms. Holmes encourages the two ducks and their 27 ducklings to stay through the spring by feeding them – they eat about 25 pounds of food each week. She also provides them with a place to swim by putting small pools throughout the school's courtyard.
"It's so cute to watch the babies learn to fly," Ms. Holmes said. "Initially, they have trouble rising more than an inch, unlike their mothers."
She said all the ducks usually fly away in late June or early July.
Sassy Sally is new to Crockett, but Missy Frissy is a regular. This is her third year to enjoy the comforts of the Crockett courtyard.
Irving: With mothers, babies around, lessons are always hatching
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Sassy Sally and Missy Frissy have made Crockett Middle School in Irving their springtime home.
The two mother ducks arrived in late February, laying their eggs after spring break – just in time for students to observe. English teacher Tiffany Holmes said that some of the science teachers take advantage of the ducks' presence to teach about life cycles.
"We all watch them hatch, but you'd be surprised how long it takes," Ms. Holmes said. "It can take about two hours for the ducklings to break out of their shells. We almost feel like helping them peel off the shell because it takes so long."
Ms. Holmes encourages the two ducks and their 27 ducklings to stay through the spring by feeding them – they eat about 25 pounds of food each week. She also provides them with a place to swim by putting small pools throughout the school's courtyard.
"It's so cute to watch the babies learn to fly," Ms. Holmes said. "Initially, they have trouble rising more than an inch, unlike their mothers."
She said all the ducks usually fly away in late June or early July.
Sassy Sally is new to Crockett, but Missy Frissy is a regular. This is her third year to enjoy the comforts of the Crockett courtyard.
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TexasStooge
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OSU player from Duncanville dies in wreck
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK/DUNCANVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Vernon Grant, an Oklahoma State football player from Duncanville, was killed in a traffic accident in Dallas Monday night.
Dallas police spokeswoman Sr. Cpl. Donna Hernandez said Grant, 21, died at Baylor University Medical Center after the 10 p.m. crash at Simson Stuart Road and Interstate 45.
Another motorist suffered minor injuries.
OSU coach Mike Gundy called Grant's death a "terrible loss" and said Grant was a "terrific young man."
The 22-yer-old strong safety from Duncanville would have been a senior this season. Last year, he made 59 tackles, two quarterback sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
Gant was a three-year starter in the Cowboy secondary. His mother died last August.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK/DUNCANVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Vernon Grant, an Oklahoma State football player from Duncanville, was killed in a traffic accident in Dallas Monday night.
Dallas police spokeswoman Sr. Cpl. Donna Hernandez said Grant, 21, died at Baylor University Medical Center after the 10 p.m. crash at Simson Stuart Road and Interstate 45.
Another motorist suffered minor injuries.
OSU coach Mike Gundy called Grant's death a "terrible loss" and said Grant was a "terrific young man."
The 22-yer-old strong safety from Duncanville would have been a senior this season. Last year, he made 59 tackles, two quarterback sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
Gant was a three-year starter in the Cowboy secondary. His mother died last August.
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