News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Former mayor won't go without fight

By JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News

CLARK, Texas – When most mayors leave office, they depart quietly.

But not L.E. Clark, the 71-year-old founder, eponym and first mayor of Clark, a town of about 150 in western Denton County.

After Mr. Clark lost re-election in May, by a 40-39 vote, he seized a prominent souvenir.

He hacksawed City Hall's flagpole and took it home. Only a stump remained until a resident donated an 18-foot pole.

"That was kind of fun," Mr. Clark said, chuckling. "It was my flagpole."

Mr. Clark wants more than his flagpole back after losing to Bill Merritt, a 30-year-old who traded a job at a prominent Dallas law firm for a doublewide trailer in Clark eight months before the election.

Mr. Clark sued Mr. Merritt– alleging voter fraud, claiming two votes were cast illegally in the election – and asked the courts to return him to office.

The election drama is the latest to rattle a town mired by growing pains since its founding five years ago.

The municipal government has been subject to three grand jury inquiries. The town shrank by two-thirds last year after a mobile home community de-annexed. And a festering feud between Mr. Clark and the Merritt family has divided the community and become the county's Hatfields and McCoys.

"When I tell people where I live, they laugh," said Clark resident Becka McKamie. "This is the stuff that goes on in reality TV."

"It's been a pain," said Tom Keever, Denton County's district attorney over the civil division. "I wouldn't object if it had never been incorporated."

Spats from the start

Mr. Clark led the push to incorporate the town in 2000. Cow pastures, ranches and trailer homes dot the area that Mr. Clark has lived in for 20 years. He told people Fort Worth was stretching its borders, and incorporating would prevent big-city taxes.

Before the town's first meeting in fall 2000, Mr. Clark had his first of many spats with Mitch Merritt, Bill's father.

Mitch Merritt wanted to develop half-acre lots. The town required a minimum of 1 acre. Mr. Clark won out.

"That's when it all went to hell," Mr. Clark said.

The two later fought over Dumpsters, gravel roads, de-annexation, alcohol sales and the construction of City Hall.

After the Merritts complained, two Denton County grand juries convened to investigate accusations Mr. Clark illegally purchased land for City Hall.

He was never indicted.

The troubles swelled with two referendums last year: one to de-annex Longhorn Meadows, the trailer park developed by the Merritt family, and another to allow alcohol sales in Clark.

Hazel Pennington, 74, who lives across the street from Mr. Clark, put up political signs opposing Mr. Clark's views and supporting the Merritts.

Mr. Clark warned her: Take down the signs, or I'll stop up your drain. Mr. Clark opposed de-annexation and favored the alcohol referendum.

"You're joining up with the enemy over there," Mr. Clark recalled telling her. "I guess that ends our friendship."

On Mother's Day last year, Ms. Pennington looked outside and saw Mr. Clark's son-in-law pouring concrete at the end of a drain linked to her showers and sinks.

The drain empties on Mr. Clark's property. Mr. Clark acknowledged Ms. Pennington's version of the events.

"I don't think it's very nice to treat an old woman like that," Ms. Pennington said. "When he gets mad at you, he becomes very childish and tries to get back at you."

The alcohol sales referendum failed, but if it passed, it wouldn't have done much: The only store in town is Mr. Clark's company that sells airplanes, recreational vehicles and trees.

But several residents, including the former mayor's allies, said his support for alcohol sales cost him re-election.

Rebecca Sheffield, who lives across from City Hall, said too many people view Mr. Clark as the bad guy.

She said Mitch and Bill Merritt come by and stare inside her home. At one point, the Sheffields obtained no-trespass notices from Clark police: If the Merritts step on the property, they would be arrested.

"They have done enough things when we weren't looking to upset our dog," Ms. Sheffield said. "She gets a vicious bark when she sees them. When your dog's behavior changes like that, you take it very seriously."

Bill Merritt said they go near the Sheffield house to check the water system of their mobile home development nearby.

From city to country

Less than a year ago, Bill Merritt was living in a North Dallas home valued at close to $500,000 and working as a transactions attorney for Jones Day, one of the area's largest law firms.

He grew up on his father's ranch six miles outside Clark. In September, he moved his wife and young daughter into a trailer in Clark and took over his father's rural real estate business.

His polished background won him an informal straw poll among wannabe mayoral challengers to Mr. Clark in late 2004.

Mr. Clark was immediately suspicious. He said Mitch Merritt was Bill Merritt's puppet master. The two would un-incorporate the town, he said.

"Why else would Bill sell his house in Dallas and move here unless it was for his dad?" said Glenda Brooks, the town secretary who quit when Mr. Clark lost re-election.

Bill Merritt responded: "That's their dream in life – that all this is about my dad. My motive was to give my daughter a better life in the country where I grew up."

Mr. Clark has said that Bill Merritt's family is never seen at their Clark trailer.

Mr. Merritt said his family has spent many nights at his father's ranch, fearful after a confrontation with Clark Police Chief Tom Bishop on Nov. 9.

Mr. Merritt wrote to several law enforcement agencies that unless he left Clark, Mr. Bishop promised to "use the full force and authority of my legal position to reign down on you and make you wish that you had never messed with this town."

Mr. Bishop, who is no longer chief, has denied the incident, and no one investigated.

Voter fraud alleged

After Mr. Clark lost the mayor's race, he sued Mr. Merritt alleging that two former Clark residents illegally voted in the election after Mr. Merritt's urging. County elections officials said the votes were legal because the residents had maintained their voter registration in Clark.

Mr. Clark initially refused to canvass the vote that would usher him out of office. Mr. Clark finally complied after Mr. Merritt sued to force action.

After canvassing the vote at a May 23 meeting, Mr. Clark pushed back his chair and got up.

"Excuse me, there's one more agenda item," Mr. Merritt said, noting that he needed to be sworn in.

Mr. Clark walked toward the door.

"Before you leave, Mr. Clark, what happened to the flagpole in front of Town Hall?" Mr. Merritt asked.

"That's my flagpole and that's my tape recorder, and I'm taking them with me," Mr. Clark said, popping out the cassette taping the meeting. "And I'm coming back for the stove because that's mine too."

Mr. Merritt's first mayoral act was to change the locks on City Hall.

What's ahead

Mr. Merritt said he won't un-incorporate the town, but he does want to sell the City Hall property and change the town's name.

"Several people have said they want a new name, and I'm not opposed to it," he said. "As long as it's not Merritt."

As for Mr. Clark, he's taking his lawsuit to court Aug. 2.

Meanwhile, City Hall is closed because the city secretary quit. A sign on the building's front door tells residents that the "government will be available on an as-needed basis during this administrative transition."


MEI-CHUN JAU/Dallas Morning News
Ex-Clark mayor L.E. Clark is confronted by former resident Linda Nelson at a town meeting.

[TexasStooge]

Mother fends off carjacker

Oak Cliff: Woman hung on to save daughter; police seeking suspect

By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - In the end, Antelma Arroyo's maternal instinct was too strong for the violent carjacker.

Ms. Arroyo was at a gas station with three of her children in Oak Cliff on Thursday morning when a man approached her vehicle.

"He asked for her purse, but he didn't get it," said Dallas police Lt. Victor Woodberry, who oversees the department's robbery unit.

Instead, the man jumped into the car with her children at the station near Zang Boulevard and Illinois Avenue.

Ms. Arroyo acted quickly.

"Get out!" she screamed to her children in Spanish.

Javier Frias, 6, escaped the vehicle, and Ms. Arroyo pulled 4-year-old Adriana Frias outside. But 18-month-old Alondra Frias was still inside as the man tried to drive away.

Ms. Arroyo wasn't ready to give up yet.

"I held on to the steering wheel while he was driving," she said.

Even though her body was hanging outside the door, the man kept driving, dragging her and skinning her knees.

Javier and Adriana were stranded at the gas station as Ms. Arroyo struggled with the carjacker. He punched her in the face, leaving her left eye severely swollen.

But that wasn't enough to stop her.

"My biggest fear was that I might not be able to rescue my daughter," she said.

So she mustered enough strength to pull herself into the moving car. After a few minutes, it stalled. The man left calmly.

"He started walking like nothing happened," she said.

None of the children was seriously injured.

All seven of Ms. Arroyo's children gathered on the front porch of their Oak Cliff home Thursday. Although her children called her a hero, Ms. Arroyo simply shook her head.

"She's always like that," said her oldest child, 14-year-old Frank Frias.

Police are still looking for the carjacker. Anyone with information about the man can call police at 214-671-3584.

Staff writer Michael Grabell contributed to this report.


DANNY GAWLOWSKI/Dallas Morning News
Antelma Arroyo, shown with three of her children, walked away with a skinned knee and a swollen eye after a carjacking attempt Thursday in Oak Cliff.

[TexasStooge]

Mesquite cracks down on uninsured drivers

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

MESQUITE, Texas — Mesquite Police have a simple and important message for motorists: Be able to prove your vehicle is insured or be prepared to pick it up at the impound lot.

The city's new, no-nonsense policy calls for police to check for valid insurance whenever a driver is pulled over for a traffic violation. If proof of liability insurance is not forthcoming, the vehicle will be towed away.

Last year, Mesquite police issued 9,500 tickets for drivers without the necessary insurance.

As soon as word got out, the phone at Phyllis Harrison's insurance agency began to ring with callers seeing a car policy—quick.

"They had seen the thing in the paper this morning and on the TV that they needed the insurance and they figured they better get it now before they get stopped," she said.

Mesquite police are following the lead of other North Texas cities. DeSoto started towing cars of uninsured drivers a year ago, and Irving police started enforcing a similar policy last month.

"It's a law, so it should be enforced," said Mesquite resident Dexter Lewis. "I think that if you don't have insurance, you should have the plates taken off your car for six months."

David Owens, who also lives in Mesquite, also endorsed the initiative. "Us guys that's paying our insurance, that's why our premiums are so high," he said. "We're having to pay for these people out there that's not insured."

Motorists who have their cars towed will have to show proof of insurance to reclaim their vehicle.

Harrison expects to stay busy as police attempt to cut down on uninsured drivers. "There's a lot of people that can't afford it, but you've got to have it; it's the law," she said.


WFAA ABC 8
Uninsured motorists in Mesquite can have their vehicles towed away.

[TexasStooge]

Teens arrested in drive-through murder

By REBECCA LOPEZ and BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police investigators blame gang warfare for the June 30 shooting death of a woman who was picking up some food at a Pleasant Grove restaurant.

Two teenagers—Romero Angel, 18, and Pedro Valsivia, 17—were arrested Thursday night in connection with the murder of Sara Linebaugh, 52, who was mortally wounded in the head as she waited in her car at the drive-through window of Wok Express in the 1200 block of South Buckner Blvd.

The Richardson woman died two days later at Baylor University Medical Center.

According to investigators, the shooting stemmed from an ongoing fight between rival gang members.

On the day of Linebaugh's murder, police said there was a fight in a nearby park that turned into a car chase and a running gun battle.

Three of the vehicles involved in the incident cut through the parking lot of a drug store across the street from the restaurant, police said. Linebaugh was hit by a stray bullet that was fired during the chase.

Police said forensic evidence links Angel and Valsivia to the murder. The two men were tracked down in Quinlan, Texas—about 40 miles east of Dallas—after police received a tip.

The Dallas police homicide and gang units are involved in the investigation.

[TexasStooge]

Taser deaths prompt medical review

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — There are fresh concerns about Tasers after a young man died this week in the custody of Tarrant County police officers.

Since November, four suspects have died after being shot with a Taser, a device that uses a burst of high voltage electricity to incapacitate its target.

While three of the suspects had cocaine in their systems, Tarrant County Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani said Tasers may have played a role in two of the deaths.

Dr. Peerwani said when stimulant drugs are in the system, they are already causing stress on the heart, and the jolt from a Taser may serve to compound the problem.

Taser International, which makes the Taser guns, said the weapons were designed with good intentions as an alternative to the use of deadly force.

But those who've lost loved ones after they were shocked disagree. Some want to see changes in police policies and procedures.

Kevin Omas, 17, was reportedly high on LSD and ectasy when Euless police shot him with a Taser gun last Sunday. He died on Tuesday.

John Omas, the teen's grandfather, noted that there were three police officers trying to subdue him. "Once they Tased him once or twice, they should have been able to control him," Omas said.

All four Tarrant County victims who have recently died after being hit by a Taser had drugs in their systems. Dr. Peerwani is taking a closer look at a few of those cases.

"Both of them had cocaine on board, but they collapsed within a very, very short time after being Tased," Dr. Peerwani said. "In addition to having cocaine, the Taser may played some role."

Eric Hammock died after being subdued by a Taser while trying to flee from Fort Worth police last April. His wife, Kathi, is now suing the weapon's manufacturer. "I think they need better training if they're going to use them," she said, "but I think until all that happens, they need to take them off the market."

Mark Haney, an attorney who represents Kathi Hammock, said he thinks Taser International rushed its stun gun to market. "I think to an extent they make the public human guinea pigs for their own product," he said.

For its part, Taser International cites independent studies affiriming the overall safety and effectiveness of the technology. "Independent medical and scientific experts have determined Taser devices to be among the safest use-of-force options available," the company said in a statement on its Web site.

Fort Worth police said they train each officer on the proper use of Taser guns. Since 2001, the electric weapons have been fired at least 180 times.

Dr. Peerwani said plans to sit down soon with Fort Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza to discuss his findings and concerns about Taser usage when drugs are involved.

[TexasStooge]

Rabies alert in Allen neighborhood

By MARY ANN RAZZUK / WFAA ABC 8

ALLEN, Texas — Homeowners in one Allen neighborhood are keeping a watchful eye out for wild animals.

A rabid skunk caused the scare after wandering into a backyard. Animal Control officials handed out flyers Friday warning residents about the danger, which is concentrated in the 1200 block of Granger.

An Allen homeowner rushed to her backyard after hearing frantic barking from her family's two dogs.

She discovered they had just killed a skunk that had wandered into the yard through a fence. The city's Animal Control department removed the skunk and sent it to Austin for tests.

The frightening experience only got worse for the homeowner, who asked not to be identified. "The tests came back that it was rabid, and I was devastated because these are members of our family," she said. "I actually was thankful that it wasn't my four-year-old that found the skunk."

The homeowner said her two dogs had received the necessary rabies shots and a booster for protection, but authorities said they will remain quarantined for 10 days as a precaution.

"I was quite shocked," said Pamela Monroe. "My neighbor actually called me and warned me first about it."

Monroe and other residents received a flyer from Animal Control urging them to make sure pets are vaccinated and to avoid all contact with wild animals.

Monroe made sure her husband and son also read the information. She said she plans to always accompany her dog whenever he's outside.

Residents said it appears that wild animals have lost their homes due to construction in the fast-growing community, leading some to wander into residential neighborhoods.

"I don't know that they can do anything about it; it is kind of a concern of mine with four kids," said the woman whose dogs are quarantined.

Residents with questions were urged to contact the Allen Animal Control department at 214-509-4378.

[TexasStooge]

Mom battles carjacker to save kids

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas — Dallas police say the heroic action of a Dallas mother may have saved the lives of three of her young children.

Antelma Arroyo fought back Thursday when a thief tried to steal her sport utility vehicle with those youngsters still inside.

The criminal remains at large, but the family is together and safe.

The incident happened at a gas station in the 2000 block of Zang Blvd. in Oak Cliff on Thursday.

As Arroyo pumped gas, a carjacker rushed up to her, pushed her out of the way and jumped into the Chevy Suburban.

Six-year-old Javier jumped out to safety, but 4-year-old Adriana and 18-month-old Alondra were still inside.

So their mother began trying to to fight off the criminal.

"I latched on, and that's when he dragged me," Arroyo recalled. "I fell, but eventually the truck stalled and I got in the truck."

Once inside, she ordered Adriana to jump out, but Alondra, the toddler, remained strapped in her car seat. Arroyo said all she could do was pray. "I just grabbed my daughter and we are hugging, praying and crying."

Eventually, the carjacker got the Suburban going again, but after losing control on Illinois Street, the man got out and fled.

Arroyo, a mother of seven children, now admits she was terrified during the ordeal. "She did a good job," said Dallas police Lt. Victor Woodberry. "She really did."

On Friday, the family celebrated Adriana's fourth birthday as Antelma Arroyo nursed the scrapes and bruises she received during the ordeal.

Arroyo said she did what any mother would do and would be willing to lay down her life for her children, but adds that she is now scared to go out again.

Dallas police asked anyone with information about the incident to call them.

[TexasStooge]

Trauma fund in bad shape

Audit faults DPS as fees for Parkland, other centers go uncollected

By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – A 2-year-old state program designed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into trauma care and championed by Gov. Rick Perry has been crippled by uncollected fees, poor oversight by the Texas Department of Public Safety and possible criminal mischief, the governor and state auditors said Friday.

And even though officials said they are trying to fix those problems, legislators have limited the amount of money that can be spent on trauma care in the next two years to help balance the state budget. That includes about $8.5 million that Parkland Health & Hospital System, the state's premier trauma center, was supposed to get.

The 2003 Driver Responsibility Program – which Mr. Perry once said was supposed to put about $1 billion into statewide trauma care by 2010 – was projected to raise $347 million in 2004 and 2005 from fees charged to drunken drivers and repeat traffic offenders.

So far, the program has produced about $18 million a year in fees, largely because DPS didn't start collecting fines from those offenders until a year after the program was supposed to start and because the Austin-based vendor hired last fall to collect those fees has delivered only about 20 percent of what is owed the fund.

That means hospitals that were depending on funds to battle a crisis in trauma care across the state are getting only a fraction of the help that was promised them when the program was created. At that time, trauma centers were turning away patients, centers were closing, and the number of beds was being reduced to make up for hundreds of millions of dollars lost through federal budget cuts and uninsured patient care.

Vulnerabilities

The audit also said the program is vulnerable to theft and fraud because the vendor, Municipal Bureau Services, isn't fully accountable to the agency for money collected or deposited into the trauma fund.

The audit noted that the vendor did not fire an employee after she had stolen from the fund and didn't notify the DPS when the allegations against the employee surfaced earlier this year, pointing up a lack of oversight by the DPS.

DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said that the agency completed a criminal investigation into the matter and that the employee has since been fired.

"The governor is very disappointed that DPS has, after almost two years, failed to get this program off the ground and running correctly," said Robert Black, a spokesman for Mr. Perry. "It was the Legislature's intent, and it was his intent, that this program be used to help our trauma centers gain extra funding, and DPS has really dropped the ball. They need to get this program straightened out."

DPS officials say they've created a task force to carry out recommendations made by state auditors during the investigation, which covers the time from September 2003 – when the program was supposed to begin – through February 2005, four months after the DPS hired Municipal Bureau Servicesto begin collecting fees assessed by the department.

The recommendations include imposing more oversight and sanctions on the vendor and improving the agency's collection rate, which was projected to be at 66 percent.

"We are prepared to carefully research each recommendation and consider adjustments to ensure compliance with statutory mandates as well as ensuring the overall effectiveness of the Driver Responsibility Program," the department said in a written response included in the audit.

The department is also in the midst of revamping its driver's license system to "address the current programming limitations" that contributed to the program's weaknesses, including an inability by the department to assess fines by repeat offenders.

"We are diligently working with the vendor to address each and every issue raised in the report," Mr. Vinger said.

Messages left at the vendor's office were not returned Friday.

Not in Parkland budget

At Parkland, budget writers there didn't count on the delayed trauma care funding, said Jennifer Cutrer, executive director of legislative affairs for Parkland.

"You can't run a major institution like this by hoping that the best-case scenario is going to play out," she said. "We always go very conservatively because you just can't count on money that's soft like that."

The program was supposed to raise money for Texas trauma centers through two avenues: increased state fees for traffic violations and drunken drivers, and a cumulative fee system based on points accrued by repeat traffic offenders.

The first part of the program went into effect automatically and netted about $18 million each year. Parkland saw its first payment, about $2.5 million, last August.

The second part never got off the ground because DPS computers weren't equipped to assess every new fine, accumulate points and properly notate which driver's license holders should have been charged under the new system, state lawmakers and auditors said.

"DPS has been a huge disappointment as the lead agency on this issue," said Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple, who created the trauma fund. "They know how displeased I am, and they are going to correct it."

Now, the projected revenue from the fund is going to look more like it was originally intended, Ms. Delisi said, with about $130 million projected in the next two years now that collections have begun to pick up.

But she's now fighting to free up $70 million of that money that's being held in the trauma fund until at least 2007. State budget writers aren't letting about half that money flow into the trauma centers until then, an effort to make sure that revenue coming in is enough to balance the budget.

That means the hospitals and emergency response systems that make up the state's trauma network are getting only about $31 million a year each for the next two years, Ms. Delisi said.

[TexasStooge]

SUV rams Plano house; boy hurt

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

PLANO, Texas — A five-year-old boy was seriously injured late Sunday night when a sport utility vehicle slammed into the front of his home.

Police said the stolen SUV, occupied by three juveniles, was traveling at a high rate of speed when it skidded across the front yard of a house in the 3300 block of Silverstone at 11:30 p.m.

The sleeping boy was trapped under the SUV, which crashed through his bedroom.

Plano police Det. Xavier Badillo said the vehicle had been under surveillance by a patrol officer, but he emphasized that the SUV was not being pursued prior to the crash. He said the officer observed three suspects getting into the car and then had to turn around his patrol car to try and follow the suspect vehicle.

"By the time he got to this intersection, that car was already inside the house," Det. Badillo said.

The wounded boy was extricated from the wreckage and taken by helicopter ambulance to Children's Medical Center Dallas for treatment of a fractured skull and other injuries. His name was not released.

The three juvenile occupants of the SUV fled on foot, police said, but were apprehended a short time later with the help of a Dallas police helicopter.

The unnamed juveniles were being questioned by Plano police.


WFAA ABC 8
The SUV trapped a sleeping boy in his bedroom.

[TexasStooge]

Kunkle reflects on 1st year

Dallas: Change hasn't come as fast as the police chief had hoped

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - As a marathon runner, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle knows all about pacing himself.

But in the race to reform the ailing Police Department, he realizes he's still near the first mile marker.

"Maybe my whole life was preparing me for this position," said the chief, now nearly a month into his second year on the job.

When Chief Kunkle took over last June, he inherited a department plagued by poor leadership, bad hiring, City Hall interference, insufficient staffing, low morale and racial tensions. As had been the case for years, Dallas had the highest crime rate among cities with more than a million residents.

A year later, Dallas still leads in big-city crime. The chief is nowhere near his goal of reducing overall crime by 10 percent and murders by 20 percent.

"I think he went into it believing he was going to be able to make significant changes with minimal effort, and that hasn't happened," said Sgt. Jim Chandler, a 34-year veteran and former police spokesman.

"I think he realizes it's like sailing the Titanic," he said. "It takes a long time to turn it around."

The year hasn't been without victories – officers say racial tensions have eased, and the department is promoting stronger leaders and doing a better job vetting new officers. Flawed policies such as the department's use of a controversial neck hold have been changed.

But most important in the eyes of his surprising number of supporters, city leaders and officers say, Chief Kunkle has shifted the internal conversation away from petty bickering to how to best fight crime. Morale is improved within the department, and city leaders remain hopeful.

"I know he's doing everything possible, and that's why I'm not frustrated," said Mayor Laura Miller.

But for some, such as Oak Cliff resident Daniel Green, that's not enough. His neighborhood remains infested with crime.

"I know y'all are doing the best you can, but we want more," he told the chief during a recent neighborhood meeting.

Quiet, thoughtful, even-tempered determination has driven David Kunkle throughout his career. Decades ago, he became the youngest person to achieve the rank of captain on the Dallas force.

He left in 1982 for successful tenures in Grand Prairie as chief, and in Arlington as chief and eventually deputy city manager.

When he became Dallas' top cop, he replaced Terrell Bolton, who was fired for incompetence. Chief Kunkle took on a host of problems, but perhaps greatest were the department's poor reputation with the community, and its politicization from within and outside.

A month after being sworn in, he restructured the department, demoting three deputy chiefs and promoting several experienced commanders.

He wanted to demote several more chiefs but was stopped from doing so by then-interim City Manager Mary Suhm. She recently has said she preferred he move slowly and avoid the kinds of mass demotions that led to numerous lawsuits and internal turmoil at the beginning of Chief Bolton's tenure.

The chief declined to discuss the issue.

Senior Cpl. Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, the department's largest, says the chief wasn't allowed to make the changes he wanted,

"I think that's a huge frustration," said Cpl White. "You have to have people in command that people respect. Certain individuals are protected no matter what they do."

Practicing patience

The chief's response has been to steadily push forward, winning support with patience and an open approach.

He's so refreshingly honest, Ms. Miller said, "that there are times where he will answer in a way that the city manager appears to want to jump up and grab him by the neck."

Ms. Suhm, now city manager, said Chief Kunkle is doing well. "He's a smart, thoughtful man who thinks about the big picture," she said.

The chief has also gained the respect of the police associations, but not their unconditional support.

The Latino Peace Officers Association called for a no-confidence vote in the chief after the demotion of the department's highest-ranking female Hispanic for her role as a supervisor during the 2001 scandal in which paid police informants planted fake drugs on innocent people.

The association backed down and now its president, Senior Cpl. George Aranda, praises Chief Kunkle's diversity efforts.

"The overall picture of this chief has been very positive," Cpl. Aranda said. His organization maintains that the chief did not act briskly enough against white supervisors involved in the scandal.

In the face of criticism from the rank and file, the chief also banned a discredited neck hold used by police. He persuaded the City Council to buy Tasers to give officers another tool to restrain struggling suspects.

"I didn't necessarily agree with the decision [to ban the neck hold], but that didn't make it necessarily a bad decision," said Senior Cpl. James Bristow. "He's a man of integrity."

For the average patrol officer, little has changed.

They say they still spend most of their time responding to calls that require them to drive long distances from one part of the city to another. That's a reality that bothers Chief Kunkle, who says he needs at least 300 to 400 more officers to properly cover Dallas.

The City Council is committed to authorizing at least an additional 50 officers each year to the 2,946-strong force. "His vision cannot be accomplished until he has enough bodies to make it happen," said Ms. Miller.

The chief constantly attends neighborhood meetings to hear community concerns and repeat his promise that help is on the way.

"We're committed to getting more officers out into the neighborhoods," he said at one such meeting. "Everybody's frustrated. Everybody wants to blame someone for the crime problem. I'm confident that we're going to be able to make a difference."

Community activists often appear to find him likeable and true to his word.

"He's kept faith with the community," says the Rev. L. Charles Stovall, a local civil rights leader.

"He's got very limited resources," says Adelfa Callejo, a local Hispanic activist. "He can't do it on his own. I think he's capable, but we've got to give him the tools and the resources if we're going to reduce crime in this city."

'Chasing the bad guys'

Chief Kunkle also frequently rides through Dallas neighborhoods, and he has responded to calls when no other officer was available.

"He's out chasing the bad guys," said Joyce Foreman, Dallas chapter president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. "What more can you ask?"

Despite his bold crime-reduction goals, through June the city's overall crime has dropped only 3 percent for the year and the homicide rate was hovering at 3 percent higher compared to the first six months of last year.

"The most important thing for us to do now is deal with the chronic crime problems, the hot spots and emerging crime trends," Chief Kunkle said.

The latest leg of the race to fight crime is to study and implement methods used to drastically slash crime in cities such as Chicago. Operation Disruption began earlier this month: About 60 officers swarm into a crime-ridden area and intensely work it for a day or so in an effort to break crime patterns before moving on.

"It's not just another dog-and-pony show," said Cpl. Bristow, an officer on that task force. "We're arresting a lot of bad guys."

[TexasStooge]

Deal needed today to avoid 3rd session

By ROBERT T. GARRETT and TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – With little time left to make a deal, lawmakers struggled Sunday to resolve differences on a scaled-back school finance and tax swap package.

House and Senate rivalries and lingering disagreements over sales and property taxes threatened to bring a special legislative session to an end without any significant legislation being passed.

The session can run until Wednesday, but because of legislative rules and the threat of a filibuster, lawmakers needed to strike a deal Sunday or today to have time to pass legislation.

Plus, any deal would provide property-tax relief far short of the ambitious plans lawmakers have touted all year – and give Texas school districts a small amount of new state money, educators say.

"This airplane's flying on empty right now," said Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, the Senate's lead negotiator on the legislation that would trade school property tax cuts for higher state sales, cigarette and business taxes.

On Sunday evening, House negotiators offered a sales tax increase of three-quarters of a cent – to 7 percent – to help offset a 17 percent cut in the maximum school property tax rate this fall.

That is down a quarter of a cent from the previous House proposal, but it would leave Texas tied with three other states for the highest state sales tax in the country. The Senate's latest plan calls for a boost to 6.95 percent.

"We feel this is what we can pass in the House," said Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, the chamber's top negotiator. "We've got a one-vote margin in the House, and if you keep on messing with something, you're going to cause problems."

The House tax negotiators had their offer printed as a bill and said they planned to sign it and send it to the Senate. But Mr. Ogden protested that that amounted to "sending ultimatums back and forth." He confronted Mr. Keffer on the House floor and asked that the two sides present their tax plans in a public meeting this morning.

"The House needs to explain their proposal and try to do this in a more professional manner," Mr. Ogden said. "I don't think you should be passing tax bills by just having bills fly back and forth by carrier pigeon."

Mr. Keffer said he had hoped to conclude a deal Sunday but "didn't give an ultimatum." He agreed to meet today.

Negotiators for both chambers indicated they would back an increase in the minimum homestead exemption on school property taxes from $15,000 to $22,500, an increase of $7,500. That would take a constitutional amendment approved by two-thirds of each house and voters in a statewide election.

Both would put about $2.4 billion in new money into schools over the next two years – an increase of 3.5 percent. Both are also close to agreeing on a cut in the top property tax rate, from $1.50 per $100 valuation to $1.25 this fall.

Disputes remained on some consumption taxes, such as the Senate's proposed 10 percent increase in state taxes on alcoholic beverages. Also contentious were proposed limits on "Robin Hood" sharing by property-rich districts.

Also complicating the negotiations were long-standing frictions between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's presiding officer, and House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. The pair, who have squabbled over legislation in several sessions since both took over their chambers in 2003, have leveled criticism at each other's chambers over their negotiating tactics.

August session feared

While few lawmakers wanted to have the special session, many fear that Gov. Rick Perry will immediately order another if they don't pass the two bills by Wednesday.

"We really don't want to be here during the month of August," said House education committee Chairman Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington.

Asked if Mr. Perry will call another session if this one fails, Mr. Craddick said: "I have no idea what he'll do."

Mr. Dewhurst was expected to use the threat of a prolonged stay in Austin to try to persuade Democratic senators not to filibuster any compromise. But Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, warned that he and three colleagues stand ready to try to talk the tax bill to death because, they say, it would benefit only the rich.

Nonpartisan legislative analysts have found that proposals to cut property taxes and raise sales and business taxes generally would reduce the tax burden only for Texans making about $140,000 or more. The rest would generally pay more.

On the school finance bill, the main hang-up was how to limit the amount of property tax revenue that wealthy districts must share with lower wealth districts – the system commonly known as Robin Hood.

Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, one of the House negotiators, noted that the Highland Park school district, which he represents, gives up more than 70 percent of its property tax revenue to other districts.

"This was supposed to be a Band-Aid solution when it was passed 12 years ago," he said. "No one thought it would last this long."

The House proposed capping tax revenue sharing at 35 percent, but Senate leaders have resisted that as unfair to most districts. The bulk of Texas districts benefit from the wealth-sharing.

Franchise tax fight

Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, one of House tax negotiators, complained that senators were proposing measures that would cut in half the revenue generated by closing loopholes in the state's main business tax, the franchise tax.

Mr. Ogden said the House version needs to be scaled back because it would penalize Texas manufacturers by taxing them on business outside the state.

Both men said the Senate has balked at applying the sales tax to car repairs, which the House wants, while the House rejects the Senate's proposed increase in alcohol taxes.

The school finance and tax legislation would allow local voters to approve as much as a 15-cent increase in property taxes for local school programs over six years. So, some lawmakers fear there won't be much tax relief in the end.

Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said petrochemical industries in his district fear a net increase. Some are in school districts that are well below the $1.50 cap on school property taxes, so they wouldn't see much in cuts.

"They actually could end up with a tax increase," he said.

Staff writer Christy Hoppe contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Condemned church may get government help

By CAROL CAVAZOS / WFAA ABC 8

CARROLLTON, Texas - Carrollton's oldest black church may receive help that will open its doors once again in the form of the state and federal government.

St. John Baptist Church, an 84-year-old structure, was deemed unsafe in April by the city's Construction Advisory and Appeals Board.

When news of the building's demise traveled around the community, volunteers began to extend a helping hand. Anthony Bond, the projects manager and the former president of Irving's chapter of the NAACP, teamed up with the owner of a Dallas foundation repair company in an attempt to save the church.

However, now there may be additional help from the government.

Rev. Ray Barnett is working to have the church declared a historic, sacred place of Texas.

"It's a very, very, very valuable project," he said.

Declaring the church a historic Texas site helps decrease the ability of the city to demolish it. While Rev. Barnett attempts to declare the church historic, a labor crew has already began to be put together.

"We've lined up a roofer, and electrician, and air conditioning specialist and a plumber," Bond said. "All of them are donating some of the time and materials to get this job done."

However, they still don't have the estimated $100,000 it will take to declare the church safe again. Whatever the price, Edith Laffity-Bircher said she wants to see the church that she grew up in saved.

"Because it's history," she said. "It's God's house. A place to worship."

An architectural design that meets the city of Carrollton's building code is next on the list of task for the project.

Once the actual project starts, it is estimated to be completed and the church ready to open its door to the public in 60 days.

[TexasStooge]

2 mains break 4 blocks apart in 24 hours

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Crews were fixing a main break that flooded nearly a dozen homes and left about two dozen homes without water service, when four blocks away another main burst Sunday afternoon.

The first main break happened Saturday night on the 4000 block of Walton Avenue in Fort Worth.

Mud not only covered the front steps of Marlin Rogers' home, but also covered many items that were sitting on his floor within. Those items on the floor not exposed to mud, were soaked with water.

"The water was at least ankle deep," Rogers said.

He said his home's carpet and furniture were all either damaged or ruined.

"The main break is right in the center of my driveway," he said. "The water just came directly into my home."

Authorities at the Fort Worth Water Department said water main breaks are not that uncommon during the summer season.

"It's that time of the year when demands are up in the summer," said Mary Gugliuzza, with the Fort Worth Water Department. "So, that's a contributing factor. Plus, we've had wet, dry cycles so the ground is going through shifting."

Crews are using pumps to drain the remaining water and they are working on the repair of the 20-inch cast iron pipe.

However, the clean up here will take much longer, especially for Rogers who said his home insurance will not pay for the damages.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to stay in my own home," he said. "I imagine it's going to take a few months to fix all of it."

The second main break happened at the 3700 block of Walton Avenue leaving a huge, gaping hole in the street.

Gail Christian said he thought it was a powerful thunderstorm that woke him up from his nap. However, what he actually heard was the sound of water pounding his roof from a nearly 40 feet shooting geyser.

"I was on the recliner taking a nap and then all of a sudden I heard a deluge of water," he said.

A 12 inch water main ruptured in front of his home sending chunks of asphalt and water into the sky and onto his roof.

[TexasStooge]

Mentally ill care worsens

Jail situation under scrutiny; state hospitals overburdened

By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County's mentally ill are getting squeezed at every turn.

As anemically funded community programs struggle to help them remain stable, many mentally ill wind up in the county jail, only to be denied vital medication for weeks at a time.

And now, because of a waiting list for beds in the overburdened state hospital system, inmates found incompetent to stand trial must languish in the jail for weeks longer before getting treatment – a further risk to their health.

"Jail is no place for people declared incompetent," said Vivian Lawrence, a criminal justice specialist with the Mental Health Association of Dallas. "They will continue to deteriorate."

Julie Noble, president of NAMI Dallas, a mental health advocacy group, agreed. "It's a bad situation getting worse," she said. "To have them sitting in the jail won't do anyone any good."

Ed Moughon, superintendent of Big Spring State Hospital, said that jail confinement probably has the most dire consequences for those with mental illness than those with any other illness.

County court records indicated that at the end of June, at least 10 inmates who had been found incompetent to stand trial during the month were still waiting for beds. Some had their competency hearings two or three weeks earlier. One had his hearing in mid-May.

Health care at the jail has come under intense scrutiny, especially since a mentally ill inmate, James Mims, nearly died last year because he did not receive his medications for weeks and water was shut off in his cell.

To this day, inmates, family members and advocates say mentally ill inmates wait weeks for their antipsychotic medication. Experts say that going without medications creates serious withdrawal symptoms and leaves inmates open to depression or manic episodes.

Dallas County commissioners are working with national experts to improve jail care and have made a verbal commitment to increase spending.

The backlog of incompetent inmates awaiting state hospital beds has been sparked by the growing number of mentally ill people winding up in jail and then being found unable to stand trial.

More patients

Kenny Dudley, director for the state hospital section of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said that of the 2,200 mentally ill patients in the state hospital system, about 650 are sent from jails to be stabilized for trials. Five years ago, inmates took up only about 300 beds, Mr. Dudley said.

"The demand keeps growing, but the capacity of the system has remained the same," he said. "It was infringing on our ability to take in civilian patients."

The length of stay for inmates is usually longer than that of other patients because they need to be stabilized enough to converse with their attorney and understand the charges filed against them.

In the past, most of the system's facilities took inmates. Terrell State Hospital was the primary recipient for Dallas inmates, but last year the hospital was running 100 people beyond its normal capacity, Mr. Dudley said.

The huge spike in demand forced the state this year to consolidate staff that work with inmates at five facilities. The idea was to provide better, more intense care and hope the inmates would improve and not return.

But the demand is such that the new primary facility for Dallas jail inmates – the state hospital in Wichita Falls – has been full, and so has the secondary facility at Big Spring.

"Right now we're jammed up," Mr. Moughon said. "The whole system is overloaded."

Big Spring is about five hours west of Dallas, so transporting prisoners there can tie Dallas sheriff's staffers up overnight. And the distance makes it more difficult for families to visit.

Mr. Moughon said the Big Spring campus includes a facility for visiting family members.

Dallas' poor jail health also exacerbates the state hospital overload. Dr. Mitchell Dunne, a Terrell staff psychiatrist, has said that even after Terrell staff stabilized mentally ill inmates and sent them back to the jail, inmates often returned to Terrell in bad shape, saying they hadn't received their medication in the jail.

Advocates say the root of this domino of problems is the dearth of funding for community-based programs for the mentally ill that would help keep them medicated and out of the jails and state hospitals in the first place.

"When folks don't have community services, they keep showing up in the courts," Mr. Moughon said. "The charges are minor, and initially they are usually dropped. But then it keeps happening, and they end up in jail. The people we treat are not doing violent crimes. There just aren't enough resources in the community for them to get the medical help they need."

Advocates say the county also needs to step up its diversion programs, aimed at keeping the mentally ill who commit minor crimes out of the jail. The county recently started a divert court for mentally ill arrestees, which has had some success.

But advocates point to other cities with far more developed diversion efforts.

Houston

The Houston Police Department started a crisis intervention team in 1999. Specially trained police officers know how to identify the symptoms of mental illness and cope with the mentally ill people in crisis.

The program, begun as a one-year pilot with 60 officers, proved so successful that after six months it was expanded. Currently 600 Houston officers are trained through the program.

Betsy Schwartz, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Greater Houston, said the Houston program started after a 1998 task force of area advocates visited similar programs across the country.

When they identify a mentally ill suspect, the Houston police also have a designated facility to take them. Harris County taxpayers pay for a Neuropsychiatric Center with a 24-hour stabilization facility and a 16-bed unit for stays of up to five days. Then patients can be transferred to the Harris County Psychiatric Center.

"The intent of all this was to reduce the number of mentally ill in the county jail," Ms. Schwartz said. "But the lack of funding for community-based services causes more mentally ill people into crisis, and more end up in jail. It's catastrophic."

Dallas has nothing like Houston's diversion programs. Police sometimes take mentally ill people to Parkland Memorial Hospital. Ms. Lawrence said police also take about 200 people to Green Oaks Behavioral Healthcare Services each month but not all meet the private hospital's criteria.

In addition, Dallas County has only two crisis intervention officers to cover the entire county.

Dallas Police Department has no similar program, but it does call on the city's crisis intervention unit. The unit director, Dave Hogan, said staff arrive when police call them to a scene and help link mentally ill people with community programs.

[TexasStooge]

Group wants drug supplies off shelves

Lake Highlands: Ban sought on items used to smoke crack

By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News

LAKE HIGHLANDS, Texas - Steve Wakefield walked into a Lake Highlands convenience store and asked the clerk for a "brown bag." What he got was not a sack lunch.

It was a paper bag containing a copper scouring pad, a flavored cigar and a small glass tube holding a fake rose – all legal items that can be used to smoke crack or other illegal drugs, police say.

"Can you believe that?" Mr. Wakefield asked moments after emerging with the bag, which is also known as a "crack kit," from the Y & H Mart at Royal Lane and Skillman Street.

"It's like that's a regular item of business. They know exactly what that's going to be used for," said Mr. Wakefield, a lawyer who has lived in the area for 25 years.

The convenience and abundance of drug paraphernalia is why the Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association is petitioning stores to stop selling rolling papers, glass pipes, flavored cigars and other items that can be used with illicit drugs.

If stores won't voluntarily break the habit, the alliance of about 50 neighborhood associations and crime-watch groups plans to ask City Hall for an ordinance that bans the sale of the merchandise in their back yard.

Some store managers said if they don't stock the items, someone else will. The manager of Y & H Mart wasn't available for comment the day Mr. Wakefield bought the brown bag, and he couldn't be reached by phone.

The items might be legal to sell, but association members said storeowners attract drug dealers and users to the area by stocking the products that can be used to fashion crack pipes and other drug-related devices.

"The people that sell the drugs are usually hanging out in the parking lot by those stores that sell those items," said Sgt. Kenneth LeCesne, a veteran Dallas narcotics police officer who recently moved to the homicide division.

"The paraphernalia itself is not illegal, but you and I know that people don't take water pipes and smoke tobacco out of them."

The Get N Go convenience store on Audelia Road near Forest Lane sells rolling papers, flavored cigars and rose tubes. A man who identified himself as the store manager said Wednesday that he knew drug users bought and used the products.

"It's legal, isn't it?" said the man, who refused to give his name. "If someone else can sell it, why can we not?"

Nearby at the American Dollar+ Store on Forest, manager Majid Alkhenany said his store purposely does not stock rolling papers, glass pipes or similar items, although customers sometimes ask for them.

"This is killing people," he said. "This is not a good thing."

Merchandise in question

Among the merchandise residents want off the shelves are mesh scouring pads – often sold under the brand name Chore Boys. The pads can be placed in pipes to hold and filter crack.

They're also targeting flavored cigars and tobacco products, which can be hollowed out and filled with drugs to be smoked, police say.

Rose tubes – often found near the cash register at convenience stores – should be pulled as well, the group's petition demands. The tubes are about 4 inches long and about the width of a pen and are often used as crack pipes. Inside are paper or plastic roses.

"It's hard to see what purpose anyone would have for buying a cheap, fake rose stuck in a miniature tube," Mr. Wakefield said.

The group also wants stores to stop selling individual cigarettes that can be taken apart and filled with or soaked in drugs, tiny plastic bags that can be used to carry drugs and the crack kits.

Is ban legal?

Michael Linz of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said the neighbors have a right to ask storeowners to stop selling certain items, but lawmakers should think twice before passing an ordinance to ban the sale of the products.

"The city shouldn't be in the business of outlawing legal products even if they may be misused by a small portion of our populace," he said.

"Before any council member proposes such an ordinance, I would strongly recommend they confer with the city attorney about the constitutionality of it."

City Council member Bill Blaydes, whose district includes Lake Highlands, said he would support an ordinance to ban the products. But he and the members of the neighborhood association have not looked into the legal nuances of passing such a rule in the area or citywide.

Chicago passed an ordinance in 1999 banning the sale of glass tubing that is designed for smoking crack or that sellers could reasonably assume was being used to take drugs. The ban includes rose tubes.

Although there might be other legal problems with an ordinance here, it probably would not be found unconstitutional by the courts, said Southern Methodist University law professor Lackland Bloom.

"I'd be very surprised if there was a problem with it," said Mr. Bloom, who teaches constitutional law.

Dallas police Lt. Ben Nabors of the northeast patrol division said drug use in Lake Highlands is no worse than in other areas of the city, although it does have pockets of problems.

He said that crime is down in the area 7 percent since this time last year, but that police appreciate the association's efforts with the petition.

"It possibly could make it a little more difficult for those who would use illicit drugs to get those products in the neighborhood," Lt. Nabors said.

Applying pressure

The Lake Highlands petition has been circulating for about a month, and Mr. Wakefield has been visiting nearby stores to see what they sell.

He's purchased rolling papers at one store, a few rose tubes at others and two brown bag kits.

Mr. Wakefield said he hopes storeowners will see the benefit – both fiscally and morally – of working with the neighborhood. He's already sent letters to storeowners and their landlords to request they stop selling the items.

"I think the petition is something that can be helpful if you are dealing with the right person," Mr. Wakefield said.

"If it is someone who doesn't care about how they make their money, then it will be less successful."

The manager of the Get N Go said pressure from the community was not going to make him adjust his inventory. The items are legal and can be used for legal purposes, plain and simple, he said.

"That's how we make money," he said. "It's about feeding our families."

[TexasStooge]

New Irving chief walks softly, but carries cachet

Irving: Top police officer has won over skeptical department

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – Larry Boyd is so subdued that some may find it hard to believe he leads a police force, his wife says.

"I'm not a ranter and a raver," he says. "Never will be. ... I never thought you got your message across by turning up the volume."

But Chief Boyd's first year on the job has been anything but quiet.

He entered the force as an outsider, facing some officers who were disappointed that an Irving veteran wasn't named the city's top police official. He oversaw the firing of a veteran officer for his role in taking a motorist into custody, an incident that threw the department into the media spotlight. And soon, he has to find a new assistant police chief.

But Chief Boyd, 46, earns praise from community leaders as well as from within the department. They applaud his efforts in getting to know the force – and for reaching out to residents.

"He came in with an attitude that 'I want to get to know the Irving community,' " says Anthony Bond, a community activist. " 'I want to establish a good, friendly, open and honest working relationship with every sector of the community.' And he's done that."

When Chief Boyd took over last fall, he knew he had hurdles to overcome.

Some police veterans were skeptical of an outsider. The new chief had to win them over. He says he didn't enter the job with an attitude that he had the best answer to everything.

"Clearly there was some concern that this person from the outside was going to change everything," Chief Boyd said. "These past 10 months have demonstrated I'm not going to turn the department upside down."

The department launched town hall meetings this year to allow residents to sound off about crime and police policies. Officers are also meeting in neighborhoods throughout Irving.

Under his watch, the department has organized a citizens police academy to help Hispanics learn about police. The classes, conducted in Spanish, are designed to reach out to the city's growing Hispanic population.

The chief receives high marks from community leaders such as Manny Benavides, president of the Irving chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. He applauds the chief's efforts in reaching out to minority groups.

"We have a police chief who's very much involved, and we, here in the community, are very much impressed," he said.

Chief Boyd's department recently implemented a controversial policy that requires the cars of drivers without proof of insurance to be towed if the driver is stopped for a traffic violation.

Mr. Bond also compliments Chief Boyd for his professionalism in handling an incident involving police brutality allegations in January.

Officer Dan Miller, leader of an Irving officers group, was fired after being accused of using excessive force when taking a motorist into custody. The motorist, Jose Palomino Ochoa, a Mexican immigrant, said that he lost his sight temporarily because of pepper spray and that his ankles were severely bruised, causing him to limp for weeks.

Days after the firing, leaders of local black and Hispanic groups called on city officials to take action to address what they said were racial tensions in Irving.

The Mr. Miller incident has been the highest-profile and most stressful challenge Chief Boyd has faced in Irving, he says. His goal, he said, was to maintain the department's integrity and trust in the community.

"Some police chiefs might go through their entire career and not deal with a case that's as a high-profile as that one," he said.

Larry Boyd was a ninth-grader in Fort Worth when he realized he wanted to be a police officer.

Police work captured his imagination, and he respected officers.

"I wanted to do something that I felt would make a difference," he said.

By 1980, he had joined the Irving department as an officer. But he only stayed on the job for about a year, finding it difficult to balance work and married life. His wife, Kay, says she worried for his safety.

He left the force. But Mrs. Boyd says she felt selfish.

"I could tell he wasn't that happy," she said.

In 1982, he joined the Arlington force, where he served as deputy chief and assistant chief.

In Irving, he oversees about 325 officers and a $37 million budget.

Outside of work, he likes to read – he's been devouring a Civil War history book – and spend time with his family.

"Not a golfer," he says. "Not a fisherman."

He says he's looking forward to his future in Irving, especially now that he has experience under his belt.

"I'm more energized today than when I started the job," he said.

[TexasStooge]

Residents push for weekly recycling

Irving: They say more pickups would boost participation

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – Residents would recycle more often if crews picked up recyclables in neighborhoods once a week, Dannie Flaherty figures.

So the Hackberry Creek resident has joined others in circulating a petition that urges Irving to collect recyclables at curbsides every week. The city currently picks up items twice each month.

Their efforts may pay off. City officials have recently suggested that the city implement weekly service. The city manager's office is reviewing the request as it prepares the upcoming budget.

Weekly service, if approved, could start as early as January, said Bob Hohman, acting director of the public health and environmental services department.

Mrs. Flaherty is excited about the possibility.

"We're thrilled," she said. "Even if they started in February, that's great."

She and other residents started collecting signatures this summer. At least 200 signatures have been gathered, Mrs. Flaherty estimates. She delivered them to city officials last week.

Besides boosting recycling participation, weekly pickups would reduce confusion among residents, she said. They lose track of which weeks of the month are slated for pickup, and some place their items on the curb on the wrong weeks.

Irving's Public Health and Environmental Services department has recommended that the city consider adopting the weekly pickup schedule, and the timing of the request is coincidental, Mr. Hohman said.

"We've been thinking about this for a long time because we felt the need," he said. "We feel we can increase the rate of collection ... if we have more frequent pickup."

The petition can only help the department's efforts, Mr. Hohman said.

"It won't hurt us," he said, "because we're all singing from the same sheet of music."

Some area cities, including Coppell and Mesquite, offer weekly pickup service. Irving has offered twice-a-month service since 1999, said Keith Livingston, solid waste collections manager.

On average, 1,130 tons of recyclables are collected each year from curbside recycling, Mr. Livingston estimates.

Irving needs to increase its recycling efforts, council member Beth Van Duyne says, but the city would have to first study the costs associated with implementing weekly curbside service.

"It's a city's responsibility to look at its impact on the environment and what it can do to minimize that," she said.

City officials have developed a proposal that wouldn't require additional staffing and won't cost the city additional money, Mr. Hohman said.

Mrs. Flaherty has received numerous e-mails from residents in support of the petition.

"We are big recyclers, which means that our garage becomes a storage bin after two weeks of recycling," one resident wrote.

"Weekly pickups would really help us increase recycling in our neighborhood," another resident wrote.

Mrs. Flaherty, who says she's been recycling for years, believes weekly recycling is important because it's the right thing to do. She says she's taught her three children the importance of recycling.

"Why wait until it's urgent," she said. "Let's start being conscious of the environment. And start with the children."

Doris Dickey, president of the Barton Estates Neighborhood Association, applauds the weekly proposal.

The petition "lets the City Council know how many out here in the homes are interested in having recycling once a week," she said. "The more involvement we can get from people in Irving, the better chance we have of making it a successful program."

[TexasStooge]

Despite high civic standing, couple maintain low profile

By JEREMY ROEBUCK / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - Lewis and Nita Patrick insist they are not politicians.

Mr. Patrick describes his nine-year tenure on the Irving City Council as something he fell into after retiring from civil service. His wife, who was elected to the Irving school board in 2004, sees her political role as an extension of her teaching career.

Nevertheless, their respective careers have helped to shape Irving into the city it is today, and they stand to play a decisive role in determining its future.

"Service to people has always been a part of our lives," Mr. Patrick said.

"But we never imagined we would be doing anything like this," Mrs. Patrick interrupted.

During his career as the city's director of public works, Mr. Patrick, 73, led efforts to secure Lake Chapman as Irving's independent water source. He was also the city's lead employee on the construction of Texas Stadium.

While working as a piano teacher for 16 years in Irving schools, Mrs. Patrick, 71, served on the Texas Education Agency's textbook committee, taught private lessons and tutored Spanish-speaking students.

"They're kind of a low-profile couple, but their contributions to this city are tough to beat," council member James Dickens said.

The Patricks met as teenagers in a youth group at Lisbon Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

"I came there because of all the pretty girls on the softball team," Mr. Patrick said.

They were married at the same church in 1952. From Dallas, the couple moved to Irving to get out from under their parents' noses.

Although they say they never foresaw political careers, city leaders urged Mr. Patrick to run for a vacant seat shortly after his 1994 retirement because of his experience in civil engineering.

After building a home for the Dallas Cowboys in Irving, Mr. Patrick now stands to be a guiding voice on what the city will do with the stadium and land once the Cowboys move to Arlington in four years.

"It's valuable to be able to call upon that 30 years of experience in public works," council member Joe Phipps said.

Mrs. Patrick decided to run for the Irving school board when the seat for her district opened up last year. "I thought that I might as well go one step further," she said. "Instead of dealing with one child, I'm dealing with many."

Her focus on bilingual education prepared her to advocate for the city's growing Hispanic population. Her background in teaching gives her an understanding of school management on a practical level, board secretary Michael Hill said.

"She's a great teachers' advocate and has committed herself to many community events," Mr. Hill said. "When there's an issue she's concerned about, she'll stand up."

Despite having retired from their first careers, neither intends on leaving the second in the foreseeable future.

"We'll keep going until we are replaced," Mr. Patrick said. "Or until we're no longer effective as leaders."

Jeremy Roebuck is a Dallas-based freelance writer.

[TexasStooge]

Coppell, Irving theaters set family fun to music

IRVING, Texas - Two family musicals are coming to the area.

Coppell Community Theatre will transform its intimate black box theater at 157 S. Moore Road into a menacing forest for Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.

"The whole interior will be converted to woods," incoming president Gary Walters said about the former fire station the company calls home. The 16-year-old company moved into the unused station in 1999 after the city renovated the building.

Artistic director Wheelice Wilson Jr. will direct the play. Pam Holcomb McLain is the musical director. A drama teacher at Coppell High School and a Coppell High graduate, Mr. Wilson said the company is doing well and "building our audience. This show is selling early."

Performances start at 8 p.m. today and continue at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays through July 31. Call 972-745-7719 or visit http://www.theatrecoppell.com.

In Irving, the Dupree Theater at 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd. will receive a visit from Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher. ICT MainStage presents the North Texas premiere of Ken Ludwig's adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through Aug. 13.

Cast and crew, who come from throughout the area, include several Irving students: Chris Winterstine (Tom) and Daniel Svoboda, both of MacArthur High; Bryan Wade of the Academy; Natasha Hall, a 2005 MacArthur High graduate; Duke Anderson, a 2005 graduate of Irving High; and Kayla Carlyle, a 2003 graduate of Nimitz High. Farine Elementary School teacher Kimberly Ann Smith plays Aunt Polly.

Andi Allen is directing the play with musical direction by Lee Harris.

Jill Stephens of ICT MainStage said the play is not just a children's show. "It is like Big River, a play that all of the family can enjoy, " she said.

Call 972-252-2787 or visit http://www.irvingtheatre.org.

Kicking it up

The kicks and hits were flying at Lee Park Recreation Center on Saturday. Zedrick Burns, who teaches karate for the center, held a martial arts tournament for all levels and ages.

"We had a great crowd," center director Ray Cerda said. "We had lots of participants and lots of spectators and used both gyms. It was a busy day."

Mr. Burns started the tournament in 2002 to promote all forms of martial arts. There are competitions in more than 60 styles in four main divisions – karate, taekwondo, kung fu and kenpo. The tournament is open to teams from martial arts schools as well as individual competitors.

To learn more about karate classes, call 972-721-2508.

Cross-country charity

While Texan Lance Armstrong is racing across France, a few cyclists from Texas are pedaling across America. They are participating in a 64-day Journey of Hope, a 3,900-mile cross-country trip that raises funds for people with disabilities.

The project is one of several sponsored by Push America, an exclusive philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Three teams started their trek on June 12 in San Francisco. One of the team members on the southern route is Travis Dusek of Irving. The MacArthur High and University of Texas at Arlington graduate hopes to raise $5,000 from his trip.

Other team members from North Texas include Michael Wallace of Southlake; Russell Carby of Dallas; David Holland of Frisco; Mike Finn, Chip George and Chris Parker, all of Fort Worth; and Brandon Harp of Azle.

The southern team will be in the Dallas area Sunday through Tuesday. Visit http://www.pushamerica.org.

Vive la France

The Alliance Francaise du Nord du Texas came to Irving again Saturday to celebrate Bastille Day.

Since 1972, the club has presented "Le Bal Populaire" to pay tribute to the day the French Revolution started – July 14, 1789.

This is the second year club members partied in Irving in the Haggar Center at the University of Dallas.

Amid balloons and tri-color flags, club members and guests dined on French food and enjoyed French music.

To celebrate French-Chinese relations, the club presented Chinese lion dancing. One highlight of the evening came as everyone sang "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem.

The club is small but hopes to grow, said president Gabriel Lugo. Visit http://www.afnorthtexas.org.

[TexasStooge]

Mysterious Texas Lights Draw Crowds

By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press Writer

MARFA, Texas (AP) - Nevada has Area 51. New Mexico has Roswell. Texas has the Marfa Lights.

Whatever's out there sparkling or dancing across Mitchell Flat and toward the Chinati Mountains has both befuddled people and attracted them to this remote area east of Marfa for well over a century.

They start converging about dusk on a desolate spot in the West Texas desert with a ridge view and an expanse of some 20 miles of treeless rangeland.

A few bring lawn chairs. Some find a spot on concrete picnic tables. Others lean against a brick wall.

With darkness toward to the east and the remnants of a spectacular sunset to the west, the first cries erupt.

"Look! Look!"

Fingers point. Binoculars get fine tuned. A few cameras click. All the attention focuses on specks of brilliance.

Legend. Myth. Natural phenomenon. UFOs?

"I just want to see for myself, and say I saw them," James Teems, 61, from Hobbs, N.M., said on a recent night.

"I thought we'd come over and look," said his wife, Fern, 59. "Looks like campfires."

That was the description back in the 1800s when cowboys and pioneers first noticed the lights. According to numerous accounts, they speculated they were camp fires or signal fires from Apaches who roamed the wilderness area around Texas' Big Bend. But, as the legend has it, when folks went over for a closer inspection, they found no sign of fires.

And still haven't.

"I'm having a hard time believing no one knows what it is," said Mike Thompson, who with his wife and two daughters made the stop as part of a trip to the region from their home about 300 miles away in San Angelo. "We've heard about this for a long time. We're here to see if we can see anything."

The lights on a recent pair of June evenings appeared to float above the horizon, dip and occasionally flare. At times, there were two or three simultaneously. They generally moved left to right, up and down. Then there were periods of no lights.

"It looks like car lights," one woman said.

Could be.

Highway U.S. 67, the main route between Marfa and Presidio, winds and seesaws 60 miles to the south on the Texas-Mexico border. A car's headlights easily could be detected in the darkness from miles away.

But the lights were here before cars and even before electricity reached the region.

There are numerous theories on what causes the phenomenon. Moonlight on mica veins sparkling off the mountains. Swamp gas. Static electricity. Atmospheric conditions created by warm and cold layers of air bending light rays that only can be seen from afar.

Then there are the ghosts of the Conquistadores looking for gold, or the old Apache explanation of stars dropping to Earth.

"I have seen strange lights that moved oddly and were definitely not on the ground," said Bernie Zelazney, with the Big Bend Astronomical Society.

Some years ago he saw lights that were "bright bluish and red colors and would come together, then one would go away."

"It was unusual," he said.

Zelazney said one explanation he leans toward is called the piezoelectric effect, where voltage is created between moving solid surfaces — in this case, rock containing quartz that contracts and expands as the surface heats and cools.

"There's a lot of quartz in the mountains out there," he said.

The effect was discovered by Pierre Curie in 1883, coincidentally the same year rancher Robert Reed Ellison is credited with the first disclosure of the Marfa Lights.

Joe Duncan, 46, owner of the Paisano Hotel, estimates a third of his customers come to see the Marfa Lights, which are celebrated with a festival each summer. He subscribes to the car-lights-on-the-highway theory.

Sort of.

"It's a hilly road, so it comes and goes and they see that," Duncan said. "But there have been too many people that are too intelligent that say there is something out there, and that if it was just the car lights somebody would have figured it out. They were definitely here before headlights.

"Static electricity," he adds. "That's what old timers here have told me."

Other local folks have stories of lights following them or bearing down on them as they travel lonely U.S. 90 between Alpine and Marfa. About a 10-minute drive east of town, the Texas Department of Transportation has erected a roadside rest stop that serves as the "Marfa Mystery Lights Viewing Area," according to the road sign.

It's where the nightly gathering of the curious assembles, with everything from motorcycles to tractor-trailer rigs filling the free parking area.

"I'd heard about it for years," said Jack Phillips, 52, who was touring the area by motorcycle with his wife and stopped for the show. "You can't beat the price."

"I think it's somebody on the hill," Christi Collier, 54, of Austin, offered while gazing at the lights. "It's a big campfire."

"I don't understand," said her companion, Lane Howard, 49. "They can tell us what happened on the moon a million years ago but they can't explain this?"