News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Senator's quest for tax risks blasphemy

Shapleigh on mission to enact state income tax to fund schools

By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – Like a traveling preacher trying to convert a nation, Sen. Eliot Shapleigh is waging a battle to turn an enormous political tide all by himself – one congregation at a time.

Playing David in his one-man road show: A statewide income tax that he and an increasing number of unlikely disciples say is the only fair and reliable way to fund public education.

The Goliath: A state population that has always hated the idea of an income tax and Republican leaders convinced that voters would call out the lions if they so much as talk about it.

In light of the Legislature's failure to solve the problem of school finance, Mr. Shapleigh said he believes it's long past time for lawmakers to give the idea of an income tax a fair and open debate in the Capitol.

The special session could end as early as this week; it's up to House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. They can end the session whenever they wish, and Mr. Craddick already said he thinks that nothing more will be accomplished.

"Every day the message gets more clear," Mr. Shapleigh said. "To me, it is clear that Texas does not invest enough in public education. Until Texas takes that step, I plan on delivering these presentations."

Mr. Shapleigh, 52, is used to carrying the flag for unpopular ideas. The El Paso Democrat is one of the most liberal members of the Legislature. He champions higher social and health spending in a state dominated by conservative Republicans.

But by tying this proposal to issues that are the source of so much frustration for Texans and their lawmakers – schools and property taxes – and by waging a tireless speaking tour, Mr. Shapleigh believes he can swim against the tide.

Over the past 2 ½ years, the lawyer and El Paso native has taken his presentation to 72 audiences in schools, community centers, hotel meeting rooms and universities.

He starts off extolling the virtues of highly paid teachers and illustrating the gaps in funding between poor schools and rich schools. He tells his audience that 43 other states have an income tax.

Then, he notes that under current proposals, according to the state comptroller, poor and middle-class Texans would see a tax hike while the richest Texans would be the only ones to see their tax burden go down. And he tells them that an income tax would mean that 70 percent of Texans – all those earning less than $65,000 a year – would get a tax cut.

Then he goes for a conversion with this line: A state income tax would be deductible from federal taxes and, unlike those levies, couldn't be raised without a vote of the people.

Most in his audiences are skeptics. Yet at the end of an hour, many come to believe that they've just discovered the only real way to pay for a faltering public-education system.

And sometimes – even in Republican-dominated suburbs, and even in front of desperate school officials looking for a more immediate solution – Mr. Shapleigh gets a standing ovation.

"Until about a year ago, I would have been the very first person at the front of the line in the charge against an income tax," said Brownsville financial consultant David Merrill. "His actual presentation reinforced my conviction that it is something that should be brought into the public debate, into the limelight and into the Legislature."

His efforts inspired the creation about five months ago of the Citizens Commission on Education Excellence, dedicated in part to mobilizing the grass roots in favor of an income tax to improve the school system.

At the helm: Mike Nixon, the chief financial officer for an Austin-based construction company and self-described conservative.

For now, there is no counter-campaign, no statewide effort to fight an income tax, because opposition is still so ingrained in the politics and psyche of Texas that few naysayers feel threatened by Mr. Shapleigh's efforts.

Opponents view Mr. Shapleigh as more of a snake-oil salesman, peddling false hopes to a desperate public.

They say that even though the constitution requires a vote of the people before the tax could be increased, politicians will inevitably raise other state and local taxes, punish working people and squelch job growth.

They also say that while an income tax would bring more money into the state, the questions remain: Do Texas schools need more money, or do they need to be more efficient with what they already have?

"Fundamentally, an income tax is not a good way to generate revenue from an economic perspective," said Michael Quinn Sullivan of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative group. "You can bring in a lot of cash, but you end up hurting a lot of people. Every state that has an income tax has a higher tax burden than Texas does. It's not a good trade-off."

Even Mr. Shapleigh's most ardent supporters recognize the uphill battle he faces before he can even think about winning even a debate in the Legislature.

"I admire Eliot's tenacity and his courage in being forthright in bringing the issue forward, trying to put it on the table as an option," said Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. "But I think in the current political environment, it'll be hard for people discuss it."

Some observers note that people warm to the idea of an income tax when assured that politicians can't just do whatever they want with the money.

Mike Baselice, an Austin-based pollster who includes the governor in his clientele, has been commissioned twice in recent years to gauge public opinion on an income tax.

The first poll asked respondents whether they would support a flat 3 percent income tax. Only 22 percent said yes.

The second poll threw in the fact that it's federally tax-deductible and would be dedicated to education and property tax relief. Support jumped to 55 percent.

Those arguments, more than anything else, often change the minds of people who give Mr. Shapleigh an audience. It did that for Duncanville City Council member Grady Smithey, a self-described conservative Democrat who opposed the idea of an income tax until he saw Mr. Shapleigh's presentation a year ago.

"You'd have had to scratch real hard to find five Democrats," he said. But when the presentation was over, he said, the audience "voted unanimously that the income tax was the only way to fund education adequately over time."

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth ISD coach collapses, dies

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News(Fort Worth Trimble Tech assistant coach David "Bear" Baranowski died Monday after suffering a massive heart attack, head coach Gerry Magin said.

Baranowski, 40, collapsed during a break in a teacher in-service day. Magin said Baranowski, a former defensive tackle who stood 6-3 and weighed approximately 375 pounds, had a history of heart problems.

Baranowski coached at Trimble Tech in 1998 and 1999 before leaving to be closer to his mother after his father died. He returned to Trimble Tech this year and was going to coach safeties and serve as the junior varsity defensive coordinator.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Keller girl's death was murder

By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News

KELLER, Texas - Keller police expect to file a murder case this week against a woman they believe killed her daughter, regardless of whether the woman regains consciousness.

"We're very confident with the evidence we've gathered thus far," Keller Police Lt. Tommy Williams said. "To be able to interview her will simply be the last piece of the puzzle."

Eleven-year-old Kelsey Roberts was found dead inside her mother's home in the 1900 block of Stallion Court in Keller Friday evening. Police said she had been suffocated. Police said her mother, Norma Jean Roberts, 49, was also in the home, found unconscious after she had cut her own wrists. She remained unconscious at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine on Monday, Lt. Williams said.

"The doctors say physically there's no reason she shouldn't be awake," he said. "We have to wait until she's ready."

Ms. Roberts was charged with murder on Saturday. Bail was set at $200,000.

Police said the motive appears to be the upcoming divorce and child custody proceedings. The mother and daughter were found about 6:45 p.m. Friday by Ms. Roberts' estranged husband, Steven Roberts. He could not be reached for comment.

Kelsey, who was active in choir and Girl Scouts, was to have started the sixth grade Monday at South Keller Intermediate School.

"She was a very well-liked student," district spokesman Jason Meyer said outside the school.

Mr. Meyer said many of Kelsey's classmates were talking to the school's guidance counselors and a team of about 17 special child grief counselors, church leaders and the police chaplain.

"It's been a steady flow this morning," Mr. Meyer said. "It affects children in different ways."

He declined to comment on whether the school had been aware of any problems Kelsey might have had at home.

"I can't really go into anything of that nature," he said.

[TexasStooge]

Grief, outrage over fatal DWI wreck

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Four people were killed early Sunday when a wrong-way driver suspected of intoxication slammed into another vehicle on East Loop 820, Fort Worth police said. The driver died Sunday night from his injuries sustained in the accident.

Police said the suspect faced up to four counts of intoxication manslaughter had he survived.

The accident happened around 1:30 a.m. at Sun Valley Drive near the Interstate 20 intersection.

According to investigators, a 47-year-old man was intoxicated while headed down the highway in the wrong direction when he struck a vehicle head-on that was carrying four teenage boys.

Fourteen-year-old Carl Field and 19-year-olds Charles Tate, Jr., Jeffrey Muriel and Donald Cain were killed. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner said two of the victims died at the scene; two others died later at John Peter Smith Hospital.

Around 200 friends and family gathered Sunday night at Dunbar High School where the teens went to school to grieve together. They also expressed their pain and outrage that the intoxicated man got behind the wheel.

"For a guy to get behind the wheel knowing he is drunk," said George Bell, Muriel's father. "You know, our son was taken away from us. You can't replace it."

Muriel's family said they are devastated the teen, who played basketball for Texas A&M Corpus Christi on a full scholarship, had his life taken away from him so early.

"So many lives are ruined," said Sonya Bell, Muriel's mother. "So many people will never be the same including me. That was my son."

Carl Field would have turned 15 next week and his grandmother, Alberta Walker, said she planned to make him a cake.

"He was a good child," Walker said. "He wasn't disobedient. He wasn't sassy. He loved his grandmother."

The brother of Cain said he was crushed and wants justice for the lives lost, including Tate who had a newborn baby girl.

"He took my heart," he said. "I've been raising my brother since he was young."

The victim's family and friends said the emotional healing could take a long time.

"As long as we stick together we'll make it through this," Bell said.

[TexasStooge]

Federal bank loses thousands of checks

By BRAD HAWKINS / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A truck carrying thousands of Federal Reserve Bank checks that were headed to Houston for sorting somehow lost some of its precious cargo. Now the Federal Reserve said they don't know just how many checks with people's personal information are missing.

The checks are already paid and canceled, but they have a combination of information that identity theft thieves could capitalize on, which include social security numbers, full names, addresses and signatures.

The contractor driving the truckload apparently pulled away with the back door to his truck wide open.

Rudy Colorado expected to dodge rain showers during his Sunday bike ride through downtown Dallas. While he managed not to get wet, he didn't escape getting flooded by pieces of paper falling from the sky.

"I look up and I see checks floating off the bridge and landing everywhere," Colorado said. "So I just started picking them up."

It took him three hours to gather some of that cargo the Federal Reserve truck lost under the Central Expressway near Deep Ellum. He picked up about 1,000 canceled checks written against personal and business accounts all over Texas.

"It's a $44,000 check," he said of one check. "Here's another $1,090 check."

He wasn't the only one who was surprised by the lost checks.

"It was open," said Juan Villegas of the truck that drove by him. "One of those sliding doors..."

Villegas said he saw the truck driving away from the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas just before dawn. He then said he made a discovery on Woodall Rodgers Freeway similar to Colorado's.

"I saw a box," he said. "[I] pulled over - picked it up - put it in the back of the truck."

Inside the box were hundreds of endorsed Social Security checks. There was enough information on the checks he said for a thief to make someone's life hard.

"Someone who steals someone's identity can totally destroy their credibility," said Mario Lopez.

The government clears millions of checks each week in Dallas for banks across Texas, half of New Mexico and Louisiana. All Texas checks must come through Dallas where they are paid and sorted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Despite attempts to call during the weekend, there was no answer at the Federal Reserve number designated to notify if the lost items were found.

However, after News 8 alerted the reserve bank, they started an internal investigation and said they did not yet know how many checks may be lost.

"We do appreciate the good Samaritan who actually stopped and helped pick up the checks," said Diane Holloway, with the Federal Reserve Bank.

She also said despite this incident, she believes the system is usually safe.

"Accidents can happen," she said. "Human error can occur. But it is a very safe system and one that we take very seriously."

However, Colorado is still disturbed by what fell from the sky during his bike ride.

"That's a thousand bank accounts that someone can get access to," he said. "All you gotta do online is [use] those few numbers right there and you can charge stuff."


WFAA ABC 8
Checks lost by a Federal Reserve Bank truck were scatter under Central Expressway near Deep Ellum.

[TexasStooge]

Move over Rover: Study restricts lanes for rigs

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

Along Interstate 20, people in passenger vehicles often feel like they are in the middle of a truck sandwich. But soon, large trucks won't be allowed on the inside lane in certain areas thanks to a new study.

Commuters on two North Texas interstates might notice the big changes in a few weeks. Big trucks will be restricted from the inside lane on Interstate 20 from Interstate 45 in Dallas to Cedar Ridge in Duncanville. The restriction will also include Interstate 30 from Collins in Arlington to Hulen in Fort Worth.

"That would be good," said motorist Larry Green. "We can put them in that middle lane and let them stay in there."

The cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and Grand Prairie said they want to make I-20 and I-30 safer. They have initiated a six-month study to see if restricting truck traffic in the far inside passing lane will do that.

Beginning in September, speed enforcement by police will increase and signs will go up to keep trucks out of the inside lane.

"And what we want to try to do is limit the places where you see trucks to the extent of taking them out of the far left lane and hopefully that's a safety benefit overall," said Mike Sims, with the North Central Texas Council of Government who will coordinate the study.

Houston and San Antonio already restrict big trucks in passing lanes on certain freeways and some drivers said they think it is a good idea.

"We have it in San Antonio," said motorist Tina Aguilar. "It's dangerous driving fast on a fast lane."

Public hearings will be held tomorrow night in Fort Worth and Wednesday night in Duncanville to see what people think. Depending on what this study finds, truck lane restrictions could be extended to many freeways in North Texas.

[TexasStooge]

Website fights to keep drunk driver behind bars

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Up for parole, a drunk driver who killed a group of teenagers December 19, 1998 is attracting renewed outrage in the form of a website.

Ricky Carter has served less than five years of a 20-year sentence for the deaths of four cheerleaders from Brock High School, but because of a plea agreement he has already come up for parole once. He was denied then and now the fight is on to make sure that happens once more.

"We wanted people to know just what the price was for our community," said Janelle Sheperd.

Sheperd did not lose a child that night seven years ago, but she said she did lose a night's sleep last week when she learned the drunk driver who killed four students could go free within months. In fact, Shepherd was so adamant about keeping Carter behind bars she started a campaign through a website called Keep Ricky in Jail.

"These families have had so much pain and so much grief," Sheperd said. "How much can they take? Do they really have to have this be their own fight to keep this man in jail?"

The site has biographies for victims Mandi McWhorter, Whitney Welch, Staci Lee and Lacey Osina. She also placed impact statements from family and friends on the site and a link to contact the Victim Service Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The site has already generated thousands of hits and untold letters, faxes and emails.

Liz Ocina lost her daughter Lacy that tragic night in 1998 and said she is grateful to have found Seperd.

"When I left her home, I got in my car and said a prayer and thanked God for bringing us together," she said.

The website is not the only efforts to keep Carter in jail. The person who received Ocina's donated heart is sending a letter for those considering the case.

However, Texas prison officials said they have never seen anything like the website and Sheperd hopes it can open the eyes of as many as possible.

"I intend to keep it up forever," she said.
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Keep Ricky Carter In Jail (Official Site)

[TexasStooge]

Perry making $365 million offer for base

Incentives for U.S. include $50 million from state job fund

By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry is offering $365 million, including $50 million from his job-creation fund, to the federal government to lure a naval air base to Texas' Coastal Bend area.

The project would be the largest incentive package ever awarded to a single entity to create jobs in Texas. It could save two Texas bases, Naval Air Station Ingleside and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, which the U.S. Department of Defense has been advised to close or downsize.

DallasNews.com/extra

Read the governor's letter (.pdf)
Previous grants from the Enterprise Fund have gone to private businesses and some universities, but this would be the first offered to the federal government.

"The governor believes it is not only appropriate but necessary for the state to play a vital role in trying to keep these military bases not only open in Texas, but expanding," said Robert Black, a spokesman for Mr. Perry.

Mr. Perry is hoping to draw employees and equipment from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, which the U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Commission has recommended closing. Oceana, the Navy's largest East Coast air base, employs about 12,000 military and civilian personnel.

Texas would face competition from other states, including Florida, where Gov. Jeb Bush has lobbied the commission to move Oceana's personnel and planes to Cecil Field in Jacksonville. Florida has estimated that preparing Cecil Field, which closed in 1999, to resume naval training flights would cost about $240 million.

But in a letter to the commission, Mr. Perry promoted several advantages of relocating to Texas. The Coastal Bend bases do not face encroaching development like the kind that encumbers pilot training at Oceana in Virginia Beach, Mr. Perry noted.

And, Mr. Perry wrote, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi offers proximity to an enormous amount of airspace reserved for airborne military exercises above the Gulf of Mexico.

"The real value of the Corpus Christi site is the airspace," said state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, chairman of a Senate panel on base closings. "Practically the only place in the country with restricted airspace in large amounts is this little sliver in the Gulf of Mexico."

Mr. Shapleigh, an El Paso Democrat, said he did not know enough about the governor's offer of $50 million in Enterprise Fund money to judge the proposal. Mr. Shapleigh has generally opposed the Enterprise Fund, saying the money would be better spent on public education.

In May, lawmakers approved about $180 million to replenish the Enterprise Fund, which was created in 2003 with $295 million. Its single largest grant so far, $50 million, went to the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine at Texas A&M University facilities in Houston and College Station.

Mr. Perry also announced $50 million for the University of Texas at Dallas as part of a job-creation deal with Texas Instruments. In exchange, TI pledged to build a new chip plant and hire 1,000 more people.

In December, Countrywide Financial Corp. announced that it will create 7,500 jobs in Richardson with the help of a $20 million grant from the Enterprise Fund.

The U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Commission, set up to analyze the federal government's list of recommended closures, said it has received incentive offers from other states for Oceana. However, the federal government considers "military value" to be of paramount concern.

Robert McCreary, a spokesman for the commission, said it has not had time to review Mr. Perry's proposal.

The incentives are "part of it, but military value trumps everything," Mr. McCreary said.

[TexasStooge]

Senate hasn't quit on schools

Dewhurst wants funding bill to be option when court rules

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – House leaders insist it's a waste of time and money, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the Senate will consider school finance legislation today, hoping to breathe new life into the moribund special session on education.

Mr. Dewhurst said that even if their latest plan does not pick up much support in the House, a majority of senators want to lay out options that could be considered once the Texas Supreme Court rules on school finance later this year.

"If at the end of the day the House isn't able to pass anything, at least in the Senate we'll have put our best thinking forward, and when the courts rule, we'll have a plan," Mr. Dewhurst said Monday.

"We hope this will act as a catalyst for the House to help us come together."

House Speaker Tom Craddick, who surprised Mr. Dewhurst and Gov. Rick Perry last week when he called for an end to the special session, sounded unimpressed. He noted that Senate leaders have been trying to pass the bill for two weeks.

"We're not going to pass a bill just to pass a bill, or so we can say we passed a bill," said Mr. Craddick, R-Midland, who also complained that Senate leaders stripped several initiatives strongly backed by the House. Among those were limits on "Robin Hood" sharing by property-rich school districts and a new mandatory starting date for schools.

"They've taken a lot of the meaningful reforms out. You can take all the controversial reforms out and say you've passed reform, but we want a true reform measure," he said.

Asked about Mr. Dewhurst's comments that many House members want to keep working on school finance, Mr. Craddick responded: "Let me tell you – I've had a lot of senators tell me they want us to stop."

Skeptical

Rep. Kent Grusendorf, the House education committee chairman, said he was skeptical of the Senate's intentions.

"I've sent a good deal to the Senate many times," said the Arlington Republican. The two chambers have tried most of this year, in their regular session and now two 30-day extra sessions called by Mr. Perry, to compromise on the school finance bill and a companion tax swap bill trading property tax cuts for higher state sales and cigarette taxes.

This time, the Senate faces resistance not just from House leaders but also from most school districts and education groups, who argue that the bill is woefully short of providing the funds districts need to meet state and federal requirements.

The measure includes a small raise for teachers, a decrease in the maximum school property tax rate, stronger accountability rules and new requirements for independent charter schools.

One group of senators has been pushing to simplify the bill so that it primarily gives teachers a raise and funds new textbooks for schools. They're expected to offer their plan as an alternative to the larger Senate bill today.

Meanwhile, Mr. Craddick balked at signing a letter to textbook publishers guaranteeing payment for nearly 6 million textbooks that were supposed to be distributed to schools this summer. The state ordered the books, worth about $295 million, but has not paid for them.

While Mr. Perry and Mr. Dewhurst said they are ready to sign the letter so the books can be shipped to school districts, Mr. Craddick said such a letter can only be issued when the Legislature is out of session.

Once the session is over, he said, he will add his signature and support action by a state panel to release the funds for payment.

The other option is to pass legislation that funds the textbooks. Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro filed such a bill last week. And Mr. Grusendorf's House committee passed a measure Monday that would provide funding for new textbooks and technology improvements.

But the two have had differences in the past over how much should be used for textbooks and technology, with Ms. Shapiro, R-Plano, wanting to use most of the money for this year's purchase of textbooks in foreign language, health and fine arts.

Mr. Dewhurst said he conversed Monday with various senators – including four who were out of town – about how to proceed in light of Mr. Craddick's comments last week that his chamber was unable to reach a compromise on either school finance or taxes.

Surprised

The lieutenant governor said that the comments had surprised him.

Drawing on a sports analogy, he said, "In any game, whether it is baseball or football or politics, if the coach on the other side takes his team off the field, it's kind of hard to move the ball. But we were elected to do a job. We were called into this special session to solve a very big problem."

The lieutenant governor said the Senate also may take up a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday that would authorize the Legislature to establish a new maximum school property tax rate of $1.25 per $100 valuation, a decrease of 25 cents from the current maximum.

The legislation does not address how the property tax cut would be offset with other tax revenues because the Senate cannot initiate a tax bill under the state constitution. Sponsors hope that the amendment might spur the House to pass a tax bill.

A district judge has declared the state's school funding system unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to substantially boost state aid for schools. The state appealed to the Supreme Court, which is expected to issue a decision in the next month or two.

Staff writer Karen Brooks contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Officers placed on leave in man's hospitalization

Police launch 2 queries into pepper spray incident last week

By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN, Texas - Two Allen police officers were placed on administrative leave Monday and an investigation was launched, four days after a man they attempted to arrest had to be hospitalized.

Edgar A. Vera remained in critical condition in a brain-dead state on Monday, family members said. Mr. Vera's family said that the department's decision to suspend the officers comes after pressure and media attention over the weekend.

Dozens of people protested Sunday afternoon outside the Allen Police Department, calling for justice.

"Those officers should have been taken off the streets the day after," Luis Pacchioni said Monday from the waiting room at Medical Center of McKinney, where his cousin is being treated. "Those officers needed to be off the force. They should face criminal charges."

Allen police officials are conducting separate investigations through internal affairs and the criminal investigation unit. In the meantime, the two officers, whom Allen police refused to identify because of the pending investigation, remain on administrative leave with pay, said Allen police spokesman Capt. Robert Flores.

Mr. Vera, 45, of Arlington went to an Allen neighborhood Thursday night to pick up a relative who was not home. He waited in his car.

The two officers arrived in the 1500 block of Mahogany Drive in response to a call about a suspicious person. They discovered that Mr. Vera had an outstanding warrant from Irving, Capt. Flores said.

Police said Mr. Vera, an immigrant from Peru, resisted arrest and struggled against officers. After an "extended period of time," Capt. Flores said the officers used pepper spray on Mr. Vera in accordance to the department's use-of-force policy. The spray had little effect, and the struggle continued, he said. And then Mr. Vera stopped breathing.

Officers performed CPR and got a heartbeat. Then Mr. Vera was transported to the hospital. Medical Center of McKinney hospital spokeswoman Sandy Fulce said Mr. Vera was in critical condition on Monday but would not elaborate.

"It's hard to understand," Mr. Pacchioni said. "How do you put someone in this condition for a minor violation? ... This is something that happened two years ago, a ticket he forgot to pay. Now he's lying there brain-dead."

Capt. Flores said he sympathizes with the family.

"We never want anyone in the hospital," Capt. Flores said. "I really feel sorry for the family. I know it's difficult for them. I feel bad for them."

But Carla Vera, Mr. Vera's sister, said she doesn't trust the Allen Police Department.

"We think they drenched him in pepper spray because up until Saturday, when we touched his skin, it felt hot. ... That speaks of a whole lot of pepper spray that was applied on him," said Ms. Vera, 44.

That combined with the fact that the hospital threw away Mr. Vera's clothes make Ms. Vera wonder whether there is evidence of excessive force.

"This is completely unfair. A perfectly innocent man, practically dead just because of a ticket," she said. "This was not necessary."

Al Día staff writer Anabel Marquez contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

State's highway funds to surge

But rate of return from gasoline taxes tied for last among states

By TONY HARTZEL and TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News

A new national highway bill promises billions more dollars for Texas projects. But no state has a worse rate of return from the federal highway trust fund, as Texans continue to pay far more in federal gasoline taxes than they get back.

President Bush plans to sign the bill Wednesday at a Caterpillar Inc. plant near Chicago.

Starting in 2008, Texas will be guaranteed 92 percent of all federal gas taxes it pays into the system, up from the current rate of as high as 90.5 percent. Early estimates show that the modest percentage increase will add up to significant dollar amounts for Texas.

The boost to a 92 percent return in the bill will bring an additional $346 million to Texas by 2009.

Still, the numbers pale in comparison with 21 other states that receive more federal gas tax revenue than they collect.

The funding differences illustrate the skirmishes common to many budget battles in Congress. One group of states fights to keep what it has, while another fights to carve the funding pie into what it believes are more equitable shares.

Massachusetts Sen. "Teddy Kennedy ain't going to cut the pie in Massachusetts for Texas," said Ric Williamson, Texas Transportation Commission chairman.

The fight involved many states virtually unwilling to budge on the gas tax rate of return.

"They were locked. They were locked on that issue," said U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, the senior Texan on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Representatives of states that receive more highway money than they collect in gas tax revenue make several potent arguments, said Ms. Johnson, a 13-year veteran of Congress and the Transportation Committee. First, residents of many of those states pay more in income taxes to the federal government. Second, many of those residents also live in dense urban areas where mass transit is more widely used.

"It's usually states that have quite a bit of rural territory" that don't get back all their gas tax revenue, Ms. Johnson said, adding that the interstate nature of many transportation projects make it almost impossible for all states to get back as much as they send to Washington. "So many projects that are needed all over the country run through more than one state."

Since the early 1990s, Texas has fought what it perceives to be a historical inequity in highway funding. The state has gone from a 78 percent rate of return to the current 88 percent to 90.5 percent (the exact percentage is in dispute). While the boost to 92 percent in a few years will leave Texas in a slightly better position, the amount of "lost" money over the years adds up to billions for Texas.

But when looking at highway funding, the rate of return on the gas tax is only part of the equation.

In raw dollar terms, it would be hard to argue that Texas got shortchanged overall. Texas' annual share of the spending pie will grow by $788 million. That's more than any state but California, which will see an $876 million increase annually, and more than the third- and fourth-place states (Florida and Ohio) combined.

By contrast, Alaska – despite its chart-topping rate of return ($5.27 for every dollar sent to Washington) received an extra $99 million a year for highway projects through 2009.

Only four states saw their slice of the pie grow at a higher rate than Texas, whose funding increase tops 37 percent. Colorado sets the pace with 47 percent growth.

But despite these gains, Texas ranks at the very bottom for rate of return. It's one of 21 states that will see just 92 cents for every $1 it sends Washington. One of the biggest reasons Texas saw any improvement in its rate of return may be House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. Mr. DeLay has pushed legislation that would require a 95 percent minimum return for all states, and he's introduced legislation to carve that benchmark into federal law, though it hasn't made much progress this year.

"This has always been a big issue for Mr. DeLay," said DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden. "Texas has lost $5 billion over the last 20 years because of formula problems."

Early last year, the Senate passed a transportation bill that would have guaranteed a 95 percent return for all states by 2009. Backers of that plan sidestepped opposition from rate-of-return winners such as New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by ensuring higher funding, even if their shares dipped. The problem: The price tag was far higher than what the House or the Bush administration would accept.

Texas also fared poorly in competition with other states for funding of high-priority projects in the transportation bill. Those projects receive specific funding from Congress before states get their share of the highway funds. Texas and five other states got $50 million for work on a future Interstate 69, but that was all.

"We got hosed," Mr. Williamson said.

Even though state transportation leaders knew there was room for improvement in the rate of return, they focused more of their energy on other goals that they say will pay even greater dividends.

"Increasing the rate of return is one of our goals, but it's not the primary TxDOT goal since [Gov.] Rick Perry took over," Mr. Williamson said. "Our focus shifted from the rate of return to a change in the law that will reduce the cost of environmental clearance and engineering."

Such a provision could mean a cost savings of more than $1 billion on a multibillion-dollar project such as a proposed Trans-Texas Corridor route from Mexico, around Houston and through East Texas, Mr. Williamson said.

Federal officials named Texas one of five states that will be able to pick one major project and then combine the approval process for environmental and design work, rather than stagger those processes consecutively. The state also will be responsible for final approval of the project's environmental plans, rather than federal officials. The project still must meet all federal requirements and be subject to federal review if challenged.

[TexasStooge]

Case proceeds against unconscious mother

Keller: Results of investigation into girl's death to go to DA

By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News

KELLER, Texas - As a friend talked to a 911 operator, Steven Roberts could be heard sobbing in the background after finding his daughter dead and his estranged wife unconscious, her wrists slit.

"Why did she do that?" Mr. Roberts can be heard saying in the background of the 911 call released Monday. "Why did she think that's a way out?"

Mr. Roberts and the friend found 11-year-old Kelsey and 49-year-old Norma Jean Roberts in Ms. Roberts' home in the 1900 block of Stallion Court in Keller on Friday night. Kelsey's body was lying in a doorway to a bedroom. Police said she was suffocated. Ms. Roberts was lying unconscious in another bedroom.

Ms. Roberts was charged with her daughter's murder on Saturday. Bail was set at $200,000.

The results of the police investigation will be forwarded to the Tarrant County district attorney's office for further action this week, regardless of whether Ms. Roberts regains consciousness.

"We're very confident with the evidence we've gathered thus far," Keller police Lt. Tommy Williams said. "To be able to interview her will simply be the last piece of the puzzle."

Ms. Roberts remained unconscious under police guard Monday at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine, he said.

"The doctors say physically there's no reason she shouldn't be awake," Lt. Williams said. "We have to wait until she's ready."

He said the motive in the killing appears to be upcoming divorce and child custody proceedings between Mr. and Ms. Roberts.

"She was obviously very traumatized by the fact that the marriage relationship was breaking up," Lt. Williams said.

Mr. Roberts could not be reached for comment Monday. A woman who answered the door at his Keller home declined to comment.

Mental examination

In March, Mr. Roberts' attorney filed a motion in Tarrant County District Court requesting a court order for a mental examination of Ms. Roberts. The motion stated that her mental condition was in controversy in the divorce. It also stated that her emotional stability and ability to care for Kelsey were issues in the case.

It is unclear from the court records whether Ms. Roberts was ordered to submit to the exam.

A mediated settlement agreement finalized last month detailed the custody arrangement for Kelsey as well as the split of personal property and debt. The document also noted that Mr. and Ms. Roberts agreed that neither would receive a copy of the other's psychological evaluation.

Grief counselors

Kelsey, who was active in choir and Girl Scouts, was to have started the sixth grade Monday at South Keller Intermediate School.

"She was a very well-liked student," district spokesman Jason Meyer said outside the school.

He said many of Kelsey's classmates were talking to the school's guidance counselors and a team of about 17 special child grief counselors, church leaders and the police chaplain.

"It's been a steady flow this morning," Mr. Meyer said. "It affects children in different ways."

He declined to comment on whether the school had been aware of any problems Kelsey might have had at home.

"I can't really go into anything of that nature," he said.

[TexasStooge]

Father, daughter injured in Oak Cliff fire

By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com

DALLAS, Texas - A father and daughter were injured Tuesday morning when they jumped from a second-story window during a fire at their Oak Cliff home.

Dallas Fire-Rescue Lt. Joel Lavender said the three-alarm blaze began about 7 a.m. in an upstairs unit of the home in the 1100 block of North Crawford Street. Owner Steve Van Rooy said the large, older home had been converted into seven apartments.

It is unclear why the fire began in the unit occupied by Charles Kerley and his mentally disabled daughter, Mary Kerley, who is believed to be in her late 30s, Van Rooy said.

The owner said Charles Kerley cut his arm while breaking the window and Mary Kerley may have broken her arm. Both suffered minor burns to the face and hands, Lavender added.

“We’re disappointed that there were injuries,” he said. “We don’t know why these folks got burned, why they didn’t get out.”

The daughter was transported to Methodist Medical Center, while the father was sent to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Van Rooy estimated the fire caused more than $200,000 damage, but the building is fully insured. Firefighters had to pull down chunks of brick wall from the back of the home to put out hot spots.

Van Rooy said four of the seven units were occupied, but it was not known how many people were in the house when the fire broke out. He said smoke alarms were activated. Firefighters broke down doors to make sure the rooms were vacant.

Rosa Murga, a 14-year-old downstairs tenant, said she was awakened by noise upstairs.

“I woke up and smelled smoke and there was no light. I woke up my mom and dad and got our dog out,” she said. “We came outside and saw the man and girl on the ground. The man was bleeding.”

[TexasStooge]

Dallas County tax hike likely

Funds sought to improve jail, add prosecutors, raise pay

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

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County commissioners are poised to approve a 5 percent increase in the county tax rate today to bring the county jail into state compliance, add more prosecutors to the understaffed district attorney's office and provide raises for county employees.

The tax increase, about a penny more on each $100 worth of property value, would be only the second rate increase in more than a decade.

"Some of these items are not optional," County Judge Margaret Keliher said. "We've got to get the jail up to state standards."

A majority of commissioners also are inclined not to increase the tax rate for the Parkland Health & Hospital System and say that instead they want to tap a projected $6 million to $18 million Parkland surplus for the coming fiscal year to pay for improvements to the county jail's disparaged health-care program.

That won't please Parkland's board, which has asked to keep the Parkland surplus intact for future hospital needs and instead raise an extra $6 million for improved jail health care by raising the Parkland tax rate.

"That surplus should be specified for Parkland's primary mission to provide indigent care in the county," said Dr. Lauren McDonald, Parkland's board chairwoman. "I wouldn't want the commissioners to get in the habit of looking at short-term revenue sources like a one-time surplus to pay for a long-term issue like jail health."

Today's vote will approve the maximum possible tax increase for the coming fiscal year. A final vote will be in September, after public hearings.

Ms. Keliher said that what gets approved in September is not likely to be lower than what gets approved today.

A majority of the Commissioners Court – Ms. Keliher and Commissioners Maurine Dickey and John Wiley Price – said Monday they would vote to raise the county's tax rate to address pressing issues the county can't ignore.

"If taxes need to be raised, I'm willing to raise them. We've been penny-wise and pound-foolish in the past," Mr. Price said. "The jail is a priority – not only the health care but the safety of the officers."

The jail failed a state inspection this year partly because there were too few jail guards to maintain a required ratio of one guard for each 48 inmates. In addition, if the county improves jail health care as planned, more guards would be needed to escort inmates for treatment.

County Sheriff Lupe Valdez asked for 75 new positions to address these issues. Commissioners have yet to make a decision on that request, but adding all 75 would cost $2.8 million a year.

District Attorney Bill Hill has asked for 42 new positions. He probably won't get that many, but some commissioners say they think it is imperative to add some prosecutors and to address a backlog of child-abuse cases.

Because they are not sure whether adding child-abuse prosecutors is the best way to tackle the backlog, they might approve extra funding, but put it in a contingency fund. That would let the commissioners decide later where and whether to spend the money, rather than locking it into the budget for specific expenditures up front.

Several commissioners are concerned that even if they added prosecutors, without more judges the backlog would remain.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said his top priority is a raise for county employees, and the county is looking at giving a 3 percent pay increase as well as 2 percent in merit pay. That would cost about $10 million.

Sheriff Valdez also has asked for 59 positions for highway patrols south of Interstate 30. That would cost $3 million the first year. The idea is to free up municipal police officers for neighborhood patrols.

The county must also cover about $600,000 in operating expenses for 70 new probation officers being funded by the state. Commissioners are considering $500,000 more to cover federal cuts to Child Protective Services. And they have been asked by NorthStar, the mental health care network, to increase spending.

County budget officer Ryan Brown said new construction and increases in existing property values will generate only about $9 million more in revenue at the current tax rate of 20.39 cents per $100 in valuation. About $2.5 million of that would get eaten up by inflation. As a result, the commissioners would need to raise the tax rate to cover the expense of the many items they deem essential.

But they are wary of a state rollback rule. If a county's revenues rise by more than 8 percent, voters can petition for a vote on the increase. Merely staging such a vote would cost the county $1.5 million.

As a result, they are weighing an increase of 1 cent, to 21.39 cents per $100 in valuation. That would generate an additional $13 million in revenue but leave the county just below the rollback cap. The owners of a $150,000 home would see their tax bill increase $15 a year.

The county's budget for the current fiscal year is $680 million. The 2006 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The Parkland tax rate is a different story. The commissioners say they will spend more to improve health care at the jail beyond the $14 million they currently spend. But Mr. Mayfield and Commissioner Mike Cantrell said last week they would rather tap a projected Parkland surplus than raise Parkland's tax rate. Ms. Keliher on Monday said she was inclined to agree with them.

But Ms. Dickey, a former Parkland board member, and Mr. Price say the surplus should be protected for Parkland's core mission.

Mrs. Dickey said Parkland's main source of revenue – government subsidies – is not stable, so a surplus this year could easily turn into a deficit next year.

"Jail health is in a crisis, but it can only be done well if properly funded. Parkland has worked hard to do things in a businesslike way. They're going down the right road," Mrs. Dickey said. "Why penalize Parkland by taking their surplus when they've worked so hard to get things right?"

[TexasStooge]

Mourning four: 'Everyone had a future'

Fort Worth: Teens died hanging out together before school began

By LAURIE FOX, JEFF MOSIER and DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas – The weekend began with such promise.

A group of friends from east and south Fort Worth played basketball at Texas Wesleyan University, hung out at a back-to-school party in Forest Hill then converged on a friend's house for a raucous evening on the Xbox.

They tended to travel in a pack, and last weekend was no different.

But early Sunday morning a pair of headlights bearing down on them – traveling southbound in the northbound lanes on East Loop 820 South – separated them instantly.

Three cars of friends swerved to avoid the careening pickup. The fourth car carrying four teenagers didn't dodge quickly enough. All four died.

"The driver in the car had very little time to react," said Fort Worth police Detective R.L. Wangler. "The kid probably did not brake."

The victims were Jeffrey Muriel, 19, a member of the 2003 Dunbar High state championship basketball team; Donald Cain and Charles Tate Jr., both 19; and 14-year-old Carl Fields.

Michael Miles, 47, the pickup driver, died at a hospital. Police said Mr. Miles, a Bedford resident, was intoxicated.

"Their car didn't make it. They swerved, but they just didn't make it," said Vernita Walker, Carl Fields' mother. Her older son and nephew were in two of the lead cars that managed to avoid Mr. Miles.

The Tarrant County medical examiner's office will try to determine how much alcohol Mr. Miles consumed. Police were also investigating where he had been drinking that night.

Police said that Mr. Miles had no criminal record. His family could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Muriel, the driver, and Mr. Cain, the front-seat passenger, were killed instantly. Carl and Mr. Tate, both of whom were in the back seat, were taken via helicopter to hospitals, where they died Sunday morning.

Wrong side

Police said Mr. Miles was first seen driving the wrong way at U.S. Highway 287 and Riverside Drive. He had been driving the wrong way for several miles, police said.

An officer tried to locate the truck but was at least two minutes away from him, Detective Wangler said. Police do not know how Mr. Miles got on the wrong side of the highway.

Both vehicles were traveling about 65 mph when they collided near Sun Valley Drive at about 1:35 a.m. There were no skid marks.

Mrs. Walker said her son, Michael Walker, 19, couldn't make sense of Carl's death and the guilt he feels that he wasn't the one who died. He slept in his younger brother's bed Sunday night.

The mother of four boys said she took on their friends, who constantly streamed in and out of their Forest Hill home.

She barbecued for them and turned the garage into a hangout area.

On Monday, cars passed slowly by, filled with neighbors and friends offering condolences to Mrs. Walker, who sat on the front porch.

The older boys and their buddies took on Carl, her youngest, as a sort of mascot. They made sure he was included in everything they did.

So when Carl wanted to return home to Forest Hill early Sunday morning for a clean shirt and shorts, the others piled in the car, too. And three more vehicles trailed along.

"They had just left here," Mrs. Walker said, shaking her head.

She said Carl's 15th birthday would have been this Sunday, the same date as his father's. They'd been buying school clothes, and he was planning to play basketball at O.D. Wyatt High, where he would be a sophomore this fall.

"My last child, he was my special child," she said. "They'll be no making him get up for school in the morning."

On Monday evening, more than 100 family members and friends of the victims grieved and prayed outside O.D. Wyatt High.

Principal Steven Johnson remembered Carl as a kind, respectful student, who always seemed to have a basketball in his hand.

"Life is short," Mr. Johnson said. "That's the first thing that came to my mind."

Jamie Muriel, 16, and her big brother shared many passions – particularly shopping.

On Saturday he went with her to pick out school clothes. Later that night, he told Jamie he was going to a party. She wanted to go, too, but decided to stay at home.

"He asked me to stay up and answer the door when he came home, so I stayed up all night waiting for him," Jamie said. "It got late so I called him a few times and didn't get an answer, and then I text-paged him and didn't get an answer."

A short while later she got a phone call from someone telling her he wasn't OK. She ran to wake her mother and then the family rushed to the hospital where they learned Mr. Muriel had died.

Mr. Muriel was the oldest of four children. Jamie described her brother as intelligent and passionate about basketball. Mr. Muriel was a former basketball star on Fort Worth's Dunbar High team that won the Class 4A basketball championship in 2003. He was a student at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where he had a full basketball scholarship.

English teacher

Chiquita Mangrum, who taught English to Mr. Muriel at Dunbar, said she last spoke with him on Thursday.

"There wasn't an obstacle that he felt he couldn't overcome," Ms. Mangrum said. "He was truly an all-around child who could get along well with anyone.

"He just touched your heart. You wanted only good things to happen to him."

Josephine Denton, Mr. Cain's grandmother, said he was an outgoing young man who loved video games and "horsing around with his friends."

"He was like a comedian," she said. "He was always having fun."

Mr. Cain's mother nicknamed him Tadpole because of his small stature as a child. Even though he grew up to be a high school football player, the name stuck.

"He didn't mind," said Ms. Denton, chuckling a little.

Mr. Cain was attending Texas College in Tyler.

Dessandra Cain, Mr. Tate's fiancee, said she's bouncing between grief and shock. The couple, who planned to marry in November, have two young daughters.

"They are never going to know their daddy," she said.

Ms. Cain, a cousin of Mr. Cain, said Mr. Tate was an aspiring rapper who had made a few homemade CDs. Ms. Cain said people loved his outgoing personality and sense humor.

One of the hardest things to accept about the crash, Ms. Cain said, was that the car was filled with good people who had everything to live for.

"Everyone had a future in front of them," she said.

Staff writers Paul Meyer and Toya Lynn Stewart contributed to this report.


MEI-CHUN JAU/Dallas Morning News
Keith Johnson rests on a car as he grieves during a vigil at Fort Worth's O.D. Wyatt High.

[TexasStooge]

Fire damages Hood County school

LIPAN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Firefighters from across Hood and Parker counties battled a fire this morning at the lone high school in the western Hood County town of Lipan.

Investigators said the blaze began around 7 a.m., probably in a closet used to store chemicals. The fire caused major damage to seven classrooms, including science labs, and damaged the building's roof.

Lipan ISD officials said classes will still begin next week as scheduled. The district is considering bringing in portables or using part of the library for class space, and a church across the street from the school has also volunteered its facilities.

Six fire departments assisted in fighting the blaze.

Lipan High School has approximately 130 students, and made statewide news in March when its boys basketball team won the Texas Class A Division II championship.

The town of Lipan is located 16 miles northwest of Granbury, and had a population of 425 in the 2000 census.

WFAA-TV reporter Yolanda Walker contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Teen wrestles with home invader

By DEBBIE DENMON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A pregnant woman is in critical condition after an intruder attacked her in her Oak Cliff home Tuesday morning.

Maria Guevara stepped outside her house in the 1100 block of Hoke Smith Drive to get some fresh air and noticed a suspicious man on her sidewalk. She ran back into the house - and the suspect barged through the door.

"I hear my mom and the guy struggling down the hallway, and they entered my room so I started to take the gun away," said her 15-year-old son Jose. "Unfortunately, he shot her in the stomach."

Dallas officers found the suspect's nine-millimeter handgun at the scene. Jose told police he knocked the suspect against a window, hit him and took his gun.

"I just dragged him out of the house," he said.

The family's house stands right across from Barbara Jordan Elementary School. Neighbors said ongoing construction at the DISD school has increased crime.

"We have been troubled with these portables across the street for some years," said neighbor Todd Rolater. "They are a hazard."

Residents said the neighborhood has changed dramatically, so much so you can even see people doing drugs in broad daylight near the school's portables. That's why homeowners keep a close eye on their lawns, especially when the children go outside to play.

There is currently no neighborhood crime watch, and resident Anthony Becton said police response time is too slow.

"'When you are talking about someone breaking into your house ... they come 45 minutes later, and the guy is already gone," Becton said.

Becton said he has called police at least 15 times in the 2.5 years he has lived in the neighborhood. Police said on "priority one" calls they respond right away, like they did in Tuesday's case.

As for the suspect, he has not been charged.

[TexasStooge]

Police standoff in Northeast Dallas

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - An army of police officers are on the scene of a police standoff at the Regal Brook Apartments in the 8300 block of Skillman in Northeast Dallas.

Police said they responded to a report of a man threatening a woman with a handgun. Once police arrived, the suspect fled to an apartment where he remains. There are no hostages.

However, police said because of the suspect's placement near Skillman, there are risks to tenants and those traveling on Skillman which resulted in the swarm of officers in the complex.

It appeared police made some type of move around 6 p.m. when a teargas cloud appeared at the far end of the apartment building the suspect was believed to be inside.

They also said in addition to them being worried he might shoot at traffic, they said they also do not want him using Skillman as an escape route.

Parts of Skillman have been blocked off and the standoff has created a traffic jam. People are being re-routed off of Skillman to Fair Oaks Crossing all the way up to Royal Lane.

[TexasStooge]

Arrest made in Arlington woman's murder

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

GAINESVILLE, Texas - The Texas Rangers arrested Lester Winningham today in the murder of Deborah Houchin, whose body was found ablaze in a parking lot in Cooke County near Muenster July 22.

Winningham was a colleague and the former fiancee of Houchin. Texas Rangers said they found human blood in his car along with other evidence.

"Over the last three weeks we developed evidence that he murdered Miss. Houchin at her apartment in Arlington, then took [the body] to Cooke County where it was dumped," said Tracey Murphree, Texas Ranger.

The Arlington mental health counselor had been shot and set on fire. Her body wasn't identified until several days after it was discovered burned.

According to a search warrant, Houchin had told her sister that if anything ever happened to her police should suspect Winningham. The engagement between Winningham and Houchin fell apart after she asked him to sign a prenuptial agreement. Co-workers said their relationship had been tense ever sense.

A few days after the murder, Winningham withdrew $20,000 in cash from the bank. He also got an expedited passport and sources said he planned to leave for Germany today.

In his car, investigators found what appeared to be fibers from the tarp that covered Houchin's body. The tarp was purchased at a sporting goods store near the suspect's apartment.

Bond for Winningham is set at $35,000 dollars. If he does make bond, he would still have to wear an ankle monitor, surrender his passport and report to a probation officer weekly.

[TexasStooge]

Lancaster parents protest book, suspensions

By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8

LANCASTER, Texas - As the school year opens, Lancaster Independent School District has already began to face controversy that includes what some call a profane story and angry, protesting parents.

Students were told they have until Thursday to complete a mandatory summer reading program assigned in May or face suspension. However, one of the books assigned to junior high students about soldiers in Vietnam, Fallen Angels, was laced with profanities and racial slurs.

Many parents said they were not only not pleased it was on the assignment reading list, but that they also were not happy to hear their children could be suspended later this week if the book is not read.

"We're all upset and mad," said parent Robin Thornton.

Angry parents protesting outside Lancaster Junior High have been told to get off the campus and students have been suspended and thrown off the campus. Monday, 750 students were suspended and given until later this week to finish the assignment.

"We have many students, many students who are reading three to five years below grade level," said Larry Lewis, LISD superintendent.

The school district isn't backing down and said it wants to send a message to under-performing students that they need to improve their reading. However, the superintendent now admits when the assignments were handed out in May, it wasn't clear how many books needed to be read.

However, the district also faces the problem of Fallen Angels profanities and racial slurs. The book was assigned to 12 and 13-year-old students.

"Some of these are not good for our children to read because it has bad language in the books," said parent Adrianna Cazaras.

Unlike the suspension, the district has admitted the book is not suited for junior high children.

"It is pretty bad and we should not have selected the book," Lewis said. "And the kind of things that are in the book, adults should not even read. It's one of those situations where we made a huge, huge mistake."

The district said it will find a replacement book for Fallen Angels. But, the district is still sticking to its deadline of having the reading assignment finished by Thursday or suspensions will follow.