The Zapata Times 3/5/2014
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WEDNESDAY MARCH 5, 2014 FREE A HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM LADY HAWKS POWERLIFTING 13ZAPATA LIFTERS HEADED TO STATE MEET 8A AUSTIN — Republicans decided who was more conservative while Democrats sought to galvanize new voters as Texas held a first-in-the-nation primary Tues- day that could push the state farther right, even as the left looks to stake new claims. Six of Texas’ top jobs are open after GOP Gov. Rick Perry decided not to run again following a record 14 years in of- fice, prompting a stampede of 26 Repub- licans candidates for various stepping stones to higher office. Democrats set on breaking the nation’s longest losing streak in races for statewide office meanwhile hoped charismatic guberna- torial hopeful Wendy Davis would turn out long-dormant voters. “If people don’t start supporting the Democratic Party and voting as a Demo- crat, instead of being a Democrat voting in the Republican primary, then we’re never going to win races and we’re nev- er going to establish ourselves as a seri- ous party here,” said Janet Veal, 43, a Texas Tech student adviser who cast a Democratic ballot in Lubbock. That possibility, and the rising influ- ence of tea party firebrand U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, has Texas Republicans flanking farther right this primary season. Some have blasted an “invasion” of immi- grants coming across the Texas border, where immigration arrests have almost tripled in recent years but remain at about one-third of their historic highs. Others pledged to further tighten some of the nation’s strictest abortion laws and doubled down on the state’s gay marriage ban — one of several state bans recently ruled unconstitutional by federal courts. “I think we need to bolster the border security and get tougher on immigra- tion,” 38-year-old conservative Republi- can Glendon Paulk said after voting in Lubbock. “I’m all for people who come over here legally but the illegal immi- grants, it doesn’t make sense for them to get a break while we’re working and having to pay taxes.” Frigid weather greeted some voters with a dangerous drive to the polls. Aus- tin locations opened late because of icy conditions and extended voting for two hours. Turnout was light in many plac- es, with election workers seen knitting or reading a newspaper in between vot- ers’ sporadic arrivals. Among those on the ballot Tuesday was a new member of the Bush dynasty: George P. Bush, the nephew of former President George W. Bush and son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, making his political debut by running for land commissioner. Six of Texas’ top offices lack an in- cumbent; the last time Texas had so many open statewide seats was 2002, when Perry won his first full term. TEXAS ELECTION 2014 See ELECTION PAGE 10A GOP pushes right By PAUL J. WEBBER ASSOCIATED PRESS KIEV, Ukraine — In a som- ber show of U.S. support for Uk- raine’s new leadership, Secreta- ry of State John Kerry walked the streets Tuesday where more than 80 anti-government protes- ters were killed last month, and promised beseeching crowds that American aid is on the way. Kerry met in Ukraine with the new government’s acting president, prime minister, for- eign minister and top parlia- mentary officials. Speaking to reporters afterward, Kerry urged Russian President Vladi- mir Putin to stand down and said the U.S. is looking for ways to de-escalate the mounting ten- sions. “It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further,” Kerry said. “It is not appropriate to invade a country, and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve. That is not 21st-cen- tury, G-8, major nation behav- ior.” Kerry made a pointed dis- tinction between the Ukrainian government and Putin’s. “The contrast really could not be clearer: determined Uk- rainians demonstrating strength through unity, and the Russian government out of ex- cuses, hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation and provocations. In the hearts of Ukrainians and the eyes of the world, there is nothing strong about what Russia is doing.” He said the penalties against Russia are “not something we are seeking to do, it is some- thing Russia is pushing us to do.” President Barack Obama, visiting a Washington, D.C., school to highlight his new bud- get, said his administration’s push to punish Putin put the U.S. on “the side of history that, I think, more and more people around the world deeply believe in, the principle that a sover- eign people, an independent people, are able to make their own decisions about their own lives. And, you know, Mr. Putin can throw a lot of words out UKRAINE $1B aid package Secretary of State Kerry backs beleaguered country By LARA JAKES ASSOCIATED PRESS See UKRAINE PAGE 10A Reports circulated online over the weekend stating that Benjamín Galván Gó- mez, former Nuevo Laredo, Mexico mayor, who was kid- napped last week, was found dead near his home. But Galván’s wife, Mar- tha Alicia Aldapa, said Sun- day night in a Facebook post that she was waiting for “good news.” “Thank you all for your words but still waiting to re- turn with good news,” she wrote. “Let us pray for good news soon.” On Saturday, a Nuevo La- redo, Mexico official con- firmed Galván was kid- napped in the city Thursday. The official had knowledge of the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity. A blog, Nuevo Laredo en Vivo, reported that Galván and his driver had been ab- ducted at about 9 p.m. at Calle Campeche and Aveni- da Aquiles Serdan in Colo- nia Madero in East Nuevo Laredo. Galván and his driver were allegedly intercepted while traveling in a vehicle, which was found aban- doned. On Friday, Ruben Dario Rios Lopez, spokesman for the Tamaulipas state attor- ney general’s office, said the office had not been notified about the alleged kidnap- ping. Galván became Nuevo Laredo’s 85th mayor in 2011. He served a three-year term that ended in 2013. At about 11 a.m. June 29, 2012, a car bomb exploded in front of the mayor’s office at City Hall in Nuevo Laredo. The blast injured seven peo- ple and damaged 11 vehicles and the City Hall building. The Tamaulipas public security agency and attor- ney general’s office said in a statement that a Ford Rang- er pickup with Coahuila li- cense plates was used in the bombing. The vehicle was placed in Galván’s parking spot, about 33 feet from his second-floor office, which faces Heroe de Nacataz Street. Galván was not in his of- fice at the time of the explo- sion. About two months prior to the explosion, 14 heads were found in three ice chests in a vehicle on Jua- rez Avenue, between Maclo- vio Herrera and Heroe de Nacataz, in front of City Hall. Witnesses reported find- ing the ice chests in front of the building, and soldiers from the Mexican Army and explosives experts were called to the scene to investi- gate. It was then that the 14 heads were found inside the coolers, along with a “man- ta,” which authorities said was written by the Sinaloa Cartel. NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO Former mayor’s wife waiting for ‘good news’ Reports circulating in Nuevo Laredo state ex-mayor has been kidnapped by an unknown group THE ZAPATA TIMES GALVÁN GÓMEZ HOUSTON — Anyone asking Bobby Mote to recite the inju- ries he has suffered in his near- ly 20 years as a professional bareback rider better plan to pull up a chair and sit a spell. After rattling off the long list of setbacks, Mote will explain that all the pain, the Motrin- filled toll being a rodeo cowboy takes on a man’s physical well- being, is worth it, and he would do it all over again. “It’s how I make my living,” the 37-year-old four-time bare- back world champion said. While it may not be readily apparent to fans attending the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo — the world’s largest — which began Tuesday and con- tinues through March 23 at Re- liant Stadium, far fewer young athletes are following Mote’s ca- reer path these days. The Professional Rodeo Cow- boys Association membership roster has plunged by nearly a thousand since 2005 to just over 5,000 today, and permit-holders, who haven’t yet earned enough prize money to apply for a PRCA card, have dropped by more than 50 percent since 1997. PRCA commissioner Karl Stressman has said the associ- ation’s “No. 1 focus as we go for- ward” will be to boost member- ship. Although Mote’s dad was a horse trainer, he admitted his parents weren’t overly enthusi- astic about his initial decision to pursue a career as a cowboy. Still, they crossed their fingers and told him Godspeed. But more and more parents, it seems, are pushing their kids into different, less dangerous sporting pursuits. Also, fewer children are growing up on farms and ranches, so they aren’t exposed to rodeoing at a young age. Therefore, the PRCA has ramped up its junior outreach program, scheduling about 20 pro-cowboy-taught clinics across the country, even in major ur- ban areas, to teach children as young as 8 the basic elements of the rodeo’s rough-stock events — bareback, saddle-bronc and bull-riding — with future plans to also teach the timed events. PROFESSIONAL RODEO FEWER RODEO COWBOYS Bobby Mote rests before the semi-finals of a competition at the San Antonio Rodeo in San Antonio, on Feb. 21. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association membership roster has plunged by nearly a thousand since 2005. Photo by Josh Huskin/Houston Chronicle | AP Group eyes youth for membership By DALE ROBERTSON HOUSTON CHRONICLE See COWBOY PAGE 10A
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The Zapata Times 3/5/2014
Transcript of The Zapata Times 3/5/2014
WEDNESDAYMARCH 5, 2014
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LADY HAWKS POWERLIFTING13 ZAPATA LIFTERS HEADED TO STATE MEET 8A
AUSTIN — Republicans decided whowas more conservative while Democratssought to galvanize new voters as Texasheld a first-in-the-nation primary Tues-day that could push the state fartherright, even as the left looks to stake newclaims.
Six of Texas’ top jobs are open afterGOP Gov. Rick Perry decided not to runagain following a record 14 years in of-fice, prompting a stampede of 26 Repub-licans candidates for various steppingstones to higher office. Democrats set onbreaking the nation’s longest losingstreak in races for statewide officemeanwhile hoped charismatic guberna-torial hopeful Wendy Davis would turnout long-dormant voters.
“If people don’t start supporting theDemocratic Party and voting as a Demo-crat, instead of being a Democrat votingin the Republican primary, then we’renever going to win races and we’re nev-er going to establish ourselves as a seri-ous party here,” said Janet Veal, 43, aTexas Tech student adviser who cast aDemocratic ballot in Lubbock.
That possibility, and the rising influ-ence of tea party firebrand U.S. Sen. TedCruz, has Texas Republicans flankingfarther right this primary season. Somehave blasted an “invasion” of immi-grants coming across the Texas border,where immigration arrests have almosttripled in recent years but remain atabout one-third of their historic highs.Others pledged to further tighten someof the nation’s strictest abortion lawsand doubled down on the state’s gaymarriage ban — one of several statebans recently ruled unconstitutional byfederal courts.
“I think we need to bolster the bordersecurity and get tougher on immigra-tion,” 38-year-old conservative Republi-can Glendon Paulk said after voting inLubbock. “I’m all for people who comeover here legally but the illegal immi-grants, it doesn’t make sense for themto get a break while we’re working andhaving to pay taxes.”
Frigid weather greeted some voterswith a dangerous drive to the polls. Aus-tin locations opened late because of icyconditions and extended voting for twohours. Turnout was light in many plac-es, with election workers seen knittingor reading a newspaper in between vot-ers’ sporadic arrivals.
Among those on the ballot Tuesdaywas a new member of the Bush dynasty:George P. Bush, the nephew of formerPresident George W. Bush and son offormer Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, makinghis political debut by running for landcommissioner.
Six of Texas’ top offices lack an in-cumbent; the last time Texas had somany open statewide seats was 2002,when Perry won his first full term.
TEXAS ELECTION 2014
See ELECTION PAGE 10A
GOPpushesright
By PAUL J. WEBBERASSOCIATED PRESS
KIEV, Ukraine — In a som-ber show of U.S. support for Uk-raine’s new leadership, Secreta-ry of State John Kerry walkedthe streets Tuesday where morethan 80 anti-government protes-ters were killed last month, andpromised beseeching crowdsthat American aid is on theway.
Kerry met in Ukraine withthe new government’s actingpresident, prime minister, for-eign minister and top parlia-mentary officials. Speaking toreporters afterward, Kerry
urged Russian President Vladi-mir Putin to stand down andsaid the U.S. is looking for waysto de-escalate the mounting ten-sions.
“It is clear that Russia hasbeen working hard to create apretext for being able to invadefurther,” Kerry said. “It is notappropriate to invade a country,and at the end of a barrel of agun dictate what you are trying
to achieve. That is not 21st-cen-tury, G-8, major nation behav-ior.”
Kerry made a pointed dis-tinction between the Ukrainiangovernment and Putin’s.
“The contrast really couldnot be clearer: determined Uk-rainians demonstratingstrength through unity, and theRussian government out of ex-cuses, hiding its hand behindfalsehoods, intimidation andprovocations. In the hearts ofUkrainians and the eyes of theworld, there is nothing strongabout what Russia is doing.”
He said the penalties againstRussia are “not something we
are seeking to do, it is some-thing Russia is pushing us todo.”
President Barack Obama,visiting a Washington, D.C.,school to highlight his new bud-get, said his administration’spush to punish Putin put theU.S. on “the side of history that,I think, more and more peoplearound the world deeply believein, the principle that a sover-eign people, an independentpeople, are able to make theirown decisions about their ownlives. And, you know, Mr. Putincan throw a lot of words out
UKRAINE
$1B aid packageSecretary of State Kerry backs beleaguered country
By LARA JAKESASSOCIATED PRESS
See UKRAINE PAGE 10A
Reports circulated onlineover the weekend statingthat Benjamín Galván Gó-mez, former Nuevo Laredo,Mexico mayor, who was kid-napped last week, wasfound dead near his home.
But Galván’s wife, Mar-tha Alicia Aldapa, said Sun-day night in a Facebookpost that she was waitingfor “good news.”
“Thank you all for yourwords but still waiting to re-turn with good news,” shewrote. “Let us pray for good
news soon.” On Saturday, a Nuevo La-
redo, Mexico official con-
firmed Galván was kid-napped in the city Thursday.The official had knowledgeof the case and spoke on thecondition of anonymity.
A blog, Nuevo Laredo enVivo, reported that Galvánand his driver had been ab-ducted at about 9 p.m. atCalle Campeche and Aveni-da Aquiles Serdan in Colo-nia Madero in East NuevoLaredo.
Galván and his driverwere allegedly interceptedwhile traveling in a vehicle,which was found aban-doned.
On Friday, Ruben DarioRios Lopez, spokesman forthe Tamaulipas state attor-ney general’s office, said theoffice had not been notifiedabout the alleged kidnap-ping.
Galván became NuevoLaredo’s 85th mayor in 2011.He served a three-year termthat ended in 2013.
At about 11 a.m. June 29,2012, a car bomb exploded infront of the mayor’s office atCity Hall in Nuevo Laredo.The blast injured seven peo-ple and damaged 11 vehiclesand the City Hall building.
The Tamaulipas publicsecurity agency and attor-ney general’s office said in astatement that a Ford Rang-er pickup with Coahuila li-cense plates was used in thebombing.
The vehicle was placed inGalván’s parking spot, about33 feet from his second-flooroffice, which faces Heroe deNacataz Street.
Galván was not in his of-fice at the time of the explo-sion.
About two months priorto the explosion, 14 headswere found in three ice
chests in a vehicle on Jua-rez Avenue, between Maclo-vio Herrera and Heroe deNacataz, in front of CityHall.
Witnesses reported find-ing the ice chests in front ofthe building, and soldiersfrom the Mexican Armyand explosives experts werecalled to the scene to investi-gate.
It was then that the 14heads were found inside thecoolers, along with a “man-ta,” which authorities saidwas written by the SinaloaCartel.
NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO
Former mayor’s wife waiting for ‘good news’Reports circulating in Nuevo Laredo state ex-mayor has been kidnapped by an unknown group
THE ZAPATA TIMES
GALVÁN GÓMEZ
HOUSTON — Anyone askingBobby Mote to recite the inju-ries he has suffered in his near-ly 20 years as a professionalbareback rider better plan topull up a chair and sit a spell.
After rattling off the long listof setbacks, Mote will explainthat all the pain, the Motrin-filled toll being a rodeo cowboytakes on a man’s physical well-being, is worth it, and he woulddo it all over again.
“It’s how I make my living,”the 37-year-old four-time bare-back world champion said.
While it may not be readilyapparent to fans attending theHouston Livestock Show andRodeo — the world’s largest —which began Tuesday and con-tinues through March 23 at Re-liant Stadium, far fewer youngathletes are following Mote’s ca-reer path these days.
The Professional Rodeo Cow-boys Association membershiproster has plunged by nearly athousand since 2005 to just over5,000 today, and permit-holders,who haven’t yet earned enough
prize money to apply for aPRCA card, have dropped bymore than 50 percent since 1997.
PRCA commissioner KarlStressman has said the associ-ation’s “No. 1 focus as we go for-ward” will be to boost member-ship.
Although Mote’s dad was ahorse trainer, he admitted hisparents weren’t overly enthusi-astic about his initial decision
to pursue a career as a cowboy.Still, they crossed their fingersand told him Godspeed. Butmore and more parents, itseems, are pushing their kidsinto different, less dangeroussporting pursuits. Also, fewerchildren are growing up onfarms and ranches, so theyaren’t exposed to rodeoing at ayoung age.
Therefore, the PRCA has
ramped up its junior outreachprogram, scheduling about 20pro-cowboy-taught clinics acrossthe country, even in major ur-ban areas, to teach children asyoung as 8 the basic elements ofthe rodeo’s rough-stock events— bareback, saddle-bronc andbull-riding — with future plansto also teach the timed events.
PROFESSIONAL RODEO
FEWER RODEO COWBOYS
Bobby Mote rests before the semi-finals of a competition at the San Antonio Rodeo in San Antonio, on Feb. 21. TheProfessional Rodeo Cowboys Association membership roster has plunged by nearly a thousand since 2005.
Photo by Josh Huskin/Houston Chronicle | AP
Group eyesyouth for
membershipBy DALE ROBERTSONHOUSTON CHRONICLE
See COWBOY PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A Zin brief WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
Thursday, March 6Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge
Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Coun-try Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589
“Visiones del Anáhuac” exhibitopening reception. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum,810 Zaragoza St. Exhibit features paint-ings by renowned Mexican landscapeartists José María Velasco. Call 727-0977 or visit webbheritage.org.
Friday, March 7Christian Life Seminar: What It
Means To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11.San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’sSt. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacksserved. Contact Leah Cayanan at 286-0654 or [email protected].
Saturday, March 8Affordable Care Act Information
and Enrollment session. 10 a.m. to 4p.m. UTHSC Regional Campus, 1937 E.Bustamante St. Navigators and certi-fied application counselors available.Bring personal identification and in-come verification. Call 712-0037.
Monday, March 10Zapata County Commissioners
Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata CountyCourthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 765-9920.
Free health careers camp forhigh school students. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.UTHSC Regional Campus, 1937 E. Bus-tamante St. To register, contact ReyCruz at 712-0037 or [email protected].
Tuesday, March 11AARP Smart Driver Class. 1 p.m.
to 5 p.m. San Martin de PorresChurch, 1704 Sandman St. Designedfor persons age 50 and over. Call 206-3513 to reserve seat.
Thursday, March 1342nd Annual Zapata County Fair.
8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fair-grounds.
Los Amigos Duplicate BridgeClub. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Coun-try Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
Friday, March 1442nd Annual Zapata County Fair.
8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fair-grounds.
Christian Life Seminar: What ItMeans To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11.San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’sSt. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacksserved. Contact Leah Cayanan at 286-0654 or [email protected].
Saturday, March 1542nd Annual Zapata County Fair.
8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fair-grounds.
Thursday, March 20Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge
Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Coun-try Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589
Friday, March 21Christian Life Seminar: What It
Means To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11.San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’sSt. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacksserved. Contact Leah Cayanan at 286-0654 or [email protected].
Saturday, March 223rd Annual 5K Run, Walk & Roll
for Rehab. Registration 7 a.m. Race 8a.m. Slaughter Park, 202 N. Stone Ave.First 100 participants receive free T-shirt and goodie bag. Drop off applica-tion/register at Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabil-itation Center, 1220 N. Malinche Ave.$15 early registration; $10 groups of10 or more; $10 kid’s run; $20 lateregistration after March 20. Call 722-2431.
Monday, March 24Zapata County Commissioners
Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata CountyCourthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 765-9920.
Monday, April 14Zapata County Commissioners
Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata CountyCourthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 765-9920.
CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS
Today is Ash Wednesday,March 5, the 64th day of 2014.There are 301 days left in theyear.
Today’s Highlight in His-tory:
On March 5, 1946, WinstonChurchill delivered his “IronCurtain” speech at Westmin-ster College in Fulton, Mo.Churchill declared: “FromStettin in the Baltic to Triestein the Adriatic, an iron cur-tain has descended across theContinent.”
On this date:In 1766, Antonio de Ulloa ar-
rived in New Orleans to as-sume his duties as the firstSpanish governor of the Loui-siana Territory, where he en-countered resistance from theFrench residents.
In 1770, the Boston Mas-sacre took place as British sol-diers who’d been taunted by acrowd of colonists opened fire,killing five people.
In 1868, the Senate was or-ganized into a Court of Im-peachment to decide chargesagainst President AndrewJohnson, who was later ac-quitted.
In 1933, in German parlia-mentary elections, the NaziParty won 44 percent of thevote; the Nazis joined with aconservative nationalist partyto gain a slender majority inthe Reichstag.
In 1934, the first Mothers-in-Law Day celebration and pa-rade took place in Amarillo,Texas.
In 1960, Cuban newspaperphotographer Alberto Kordatook the now-famous pictureof guerrilla leader Ernesto“Che” Guevara during a me-morial service in Havana forvictims of a ship explosion.
In 1963, country music per-formers Patsy Cline, CowboyCopas and Hawkshaw Haw-kins died in the crash of theirplane, a Piper Comanche, nearCamden, Tenn., along with pi-lot Randy Hughes (Cline’smanager).
In 1970, the Treaty on theNon-Proliferation of NuclearWeapons went into effect after43 nations ratified it.
In 1979, NASA’s Voyager 1space probe flew past Jupiter,sending back photographs ofthe planet and its moons.
In 1982, comedian John Be-lushi was found dead of a drugoverdose in a rented bungalowin Hollywood; he was 33.
Ten years ago: MarthaStewart was convicted in NewYork of obstructing justice andlying to the government aboutwhy she’d unloaded her Im-clone stock just before theprice plummeted; her ex-stock-broker, Peter Bacanovic, alsowas found guilty in the stockscandal. (Each later received afive-month prison sentence.)
Five years ago: As thou-sands demonstrated outside,California Supreme Court jus-tices listened to legal argu-ments over the passage ofProposition 8, which bannedsame-sex marriage.
One year ago: VenezuelanPresident Hugo Chavez, LatinAmerica’s most vocal and con-troversial leader, died at age 58after a struggle with cancer.
Today’s Birthdays: ActorJames Noble is 92. Actor PaulSand is 82. Actor James B.Sikking is 80. Actor DeanStockwell is 78. Actor FredWilliamson is 76. Actress Sa-mantha Eggar is 75. Actor Mi-chael Warren is 68. Actor Ed-die Hodges is 67.
Thought for Today: “Bore-dom is the root of all evil —the despairing refusal to beoneself.” — Soren Kierke-gaard, Danish philosopher(1813-1855).
TODAY IN HISTORY
EWING, N.J. — A gas leak and subsequentexplosion leveled one house and damageddozens of others at a suburban town housedevelopment Tuesday, killing one residentand injuring seven workers, authorities said.
The body was not discovered until late inthe day, some distance from the home, afterauthorities had thought the neighborhoodhad escaped the blast without any deaths.Police were working to establish the victim’sidentity, Lt. Ron Lunetta said, adding that noone else was believed to be missing.
At least 55 units in the complex were dam-aged, police said, including the house thatwas leveled, and seven others that were“pretty much destroyed,” Fire Marshal BillErney said.
The events leading to the explosion began
with a contractor working to replace electricservice to the house that later blew up, offi-cials from the utility PSE&G said. Aroundnoon, the utility got a call that the contrac-tor had damaged a gas line.
Crews were repairing the line about anhour later when, PSE&G spokeswoman Lind-sey Puliti said, “there was an ignition.”
The force from the explosion buckled win-dows in an apartment complex nearby, saidresident Marsha Brown, and pictures fellfrom her walls.
“It felt like a bomb,” she said.At least one home was a blackened pile of
rubble, and others had damage, includingwindows that were blown out. Debris waswidely scattered, with insulation hanging insome tree branches.
“My body was shaking. I like to say I amcalm, but I was shaking,” said Brown.
AROUND THE NATION
In this image provided by Josh Forst, flames and smoke shoot up after an explosion at a townhouse complex Tuesday, in Ew-ing, N.J. A gas line damaged by a contractor exploded "like a bomb" while utility crews worked to repair it Tuesday at thecomplex, killing one person and injuring at least seven people while several homes were destroyed or damaged.
Photo by Josh Forst | AP
1 killed in NJ explosionBy BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI AND GEOFF MULVIHILL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Asteroid passing Earthwill be closer than moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —An asteroid is headed this way.But even though it will comecloser than the moon, astrono-mers say it will pose no danger.
The newly discovered aste-roid, called 2014 DX110, will hur-tle between the moon and Earthtoday. DX110 will pass an esti-mated 217,000 miles from Earth.
Relatively close approacheslike this occur all the time, al-though DX110 is extra close.
University of Coloradogets holocaust archiveBOULDER, Colo. — The Uni-
versity of Colorado in Boulder isthe new home of an extensivecollection of Holocaust-era docu-ments, books and photographs.
The university on Tuesday an-nounced the donation of the Ma-zal (Mah-ZAHL’) Holocaust Col-lection, calling it the world’slargest privately owned Holo-caust archive.
Dead deer found at Vt.’sSanta’s Land holiday park
PUTNEY, Vt. — More than adozen dead deer have been foundat Santa’s Land, a holiday-themed amusement park inSouthern Vermont, and the own-er and a caretaker have been ac-cused of animal cruelty.
Windham County SheriffKeith Clark told the BrattleboroReformer that caretaker BrianDeistler, 24, and owner LillianBillewicz, 55, will likely receivecivil tickets for animal crueltyand that prosecutors will decidewhether to file charges.
SkyWest plane slides offrunway in Montana
MISSOULA, Mont. — A SkyW-est Airlines flight has reached itsdestination in Salt Lake City af-ter sliding off the main runwayTuesday at Montana’s MissoulaInternational Airport, as freez-ing rain was reported.
No one on Delta ConnectionFlight 4600 was injured.
Oscar pizza delivery mangets $1,000 tip
LOS ANGELES — The pizzadelivery man who fed stars at theOscars received a best tip awardfor a supporting player: $1,000 incash handed over by ceremonyhost Ellen DeGeneres.
The Big Mama’s & Papa’s de-livery guy, Edgar Martirosyan,said he had already gotten a re-ward: serving Julia Roberts,whom he called the woman ofhis dreams.
Metro Rail train, carcollide in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — A minivancollided with a light rail commu-ter train in Los Angeles, leaving13 people injured, two seriously.
Fire Department spokeswo-man Katherine Main says 12 peo-ple from the train were taken tothe hospital.
The minivan driver didn’thave serious injuries and de-clined to be transported.
— Compiled from AP reports
Militants kill 11 people intheir homes in NigeriaMAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Offi-
cials say Islamic militants haveburned 11 people to death insidetheir homes in northeastern Ni-geria, where frequent attackshave claimed at least 130 lives inthe past four days alone.
The attack late Monday on Ja-kana village in Borno state oc-curred about 6 miles (10 kilome-ters) from a village where 39 peo-ple were slaughtered onSaturday, said Nigerian SenatorAhmed Zannah.
Violence has escalated in re-cent weeks in three northeasternNigerian states that have beenunder emergency rule for overnine months.
As Pompeii crumbles,Italy OKs urgent repairsROME — Citing “utmost ur-
gency,” Italy has approved workto repair walls in ancient Pom-
peii that collapsed after heavyrains, and authorized spending 2million euros ($2.7 million) onroutine maintenance.
The decisions were madeTuesday in Rome after a meetingof the culture minister with ar-chaeological experts. On Sunday,
stones from an arch and astretch of wall collapsed in thepopular tourist site.
Italy’s culture ministry saidpriority will also be given towork to reduce flood risk in un-excavated areas.
— Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD
Drum Queen Juliana Alves from the Unidos da Tijuca samba school parades dur-ing carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tues-day.
Photo by Felipe Dana | AP
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 Local THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Texans had to provewho they were to cast bal-lots Tuesday, beginning aseries of U.S state elec-tions that will show the ef-fect of laws pushed by Re-publicans requiring photoidentification at the polls.
Nine states this yearare holding their first ma-jor votes — including forgovernor and Congress —under such laws, accord-ing to the Denver-basedNational Conference ofState Legislatures. TheU.S. Supreme Court clear-ed the way for many suchrequirements last year af-ter throwing out a coreelement of the 1965 VotingRights Act, which wasmeant to enfranchiseblacks in the segregatedSouth.
Republicans have saidthe measures will stopfraud, while Democratssay they are meant tokeep minorities and thepoor from participating.The effects may be sweep-ing: In Dallas Countyalone, the elections de-partment mailed letters inJanuary to warn almost200,000 people of discre-pancies between voter reg-istrations and identifica-tion records, said Kath-leen Thompson,spokeswoman for thecountys Democratic Party.
Were going to be watch-ing it very closely, obvi-ously with an eye to con-cern about just how muchit reduces Latino turnoutat the elections or even re-sults in Latinos beingturned away from thepolls, said Brent Wilkes,national executive direc-tor for the League of Unit-
ed Latin American Citi-zens, an Washington-basedgroup that opposes thelaws.
Court challengesNineteen states have en-
acted some form of identi-fication law, according tothe NCSL. Besides Texas,other states where lawsare taking effect for majorelections this year areAlabama, Arkansas, Mis-sissippi, New Hampshire,North Dakota, Oklahoma,Rhode Island, and Virgin-ia, the group said.
Measures in Pennsylva-nia and Wisconsin are onhold because of court chal-lenges, and 10 other statesare debating new or morestringent requirements,the conference said.
The Texas Legislaturepassed its law in 2011. Itwas null until the Su-preme Court threw out arequirement in the VotingRights Act that the U.S.Justice Department ap-prove election rules inTexas and all or part of 14other states, most South-ern.
In Texas today, pollsshow that few races areclose. Attorney GeneralGreg Abbott leads the Re-publican race for the gov-ernor nomination. On theDemocratic side, the can-didates include state Sen-ator Wendy Davis, whogained fame for a filibus-ter last year in an attemptto kill an law restrictingabortions. Other candi-dates in the Republicanprimary include U.S. Sen-ator John Cornyn, who is
seeking re-election. Sur-veys show he leads TeaParty favorite Steve Stock-man, a U.S. representative.
Acceptable IDTo make their choices,
voters in the Lone StarState must show one ofseven forms of photo iden-tification, including adrivers license, electionidentification certificate,personal identificationcard or concealed hand-gun license, as well as apassport and military cardfrom the federal govern-ment, according to theTexas Secretary of State.
The law was used forthe first time in Novemberwhen there were proposedconstitutional amend-ments on the ballot state-
wide.Supporters of the mea-
sures have said that beforetheir passage, unregis-tered people could givefalse names to cast ballots.Abbott says on his cam-paign website that voterfraud is real and that lawsare needed to preventcheating at the ballot box.
Opponents said thereslittle evidence of such be-havior.
The premise of the lawis somewhat suspect, voterDon Campbell, 75, said inan interview today aftervoting at the Dallas Coun-ty Courthouse. Its de-signed to solve a nonexist-ent problem.
Second chancesCampbell, who carries
an ID and said the re-quirement isnt a burdenfor him, called the re-quirement a new type ofpoll tax. It may affect mi-norities and the elderly, hesaid.
Under Texas law, voterswhose personal informa-tion doesnt match exactlycan initial a form to get aregular ballot. Those with-out an ID can vote using aprovisional ballot, whichgives them six days to ver-ify their identity and havethe ballot counted, saidAlicia Pierce, a spokeswo-man for the secretary ofstates office.
There were no immedi-ate reports from pollingplaces today of problemslinked to the ID require-ment, Pierce said.
Between 8 percent and12 percent of eligible U.S.citizens lack requiredidentification, and whilemany states offer freecards for voting, it is diffi-cult for some residents totravel to get them, saidMyrna Perez, a lawyer atthe Brennan Center forJustice in New York whorepresents groups chal-lenging the Texas law.
Increased turnoutResults from the No-
vember election in Texasshowed that turnout in-creased to about 9 percentof registered voters fromabout 5 percent in a simi-lar election two years ear-lier. Participation in-creased in counties withlarger percentages of mi-norities, according to aFeb. 11 issue paper byHans von Spakovsky, a le-gal fellow at the HeritageFoundation, a Washingtonresearch group that pro-motes conservative poli-cies.
This delegitimizesclaims that voter ID lawsare likely to negatively af-fect poor and minorityvoters, he wrote.
Texas marks start of balloting with ID laws
An election official checks a voter’s photo identification at an early voting polling site, in Austin, on Feb. 2. Voters in 10 states will be re-quired to present photo identification before casting ballots — the first major test of voter ID laws after years of legal challenges.
Photo by Eric Gay/file | AP
9 other states alsorequire a form of
identificationBy MARK NIQUETTE AND
DAVID MILDENBERGBLOOMBERG NEWS
PAGE 4A Zopinion WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO [email protected]
The federal government has a mostlyopen dialogue with those it serves andthose who serve it. This happens prettywell across government agencies, fromthe Pentagon to the Department of Trans-portation to the Department of Agricul-ture.
So it is troubling that the National In-stitutes of Health, an arm of the Depart-ment of Health and Human Services, ap-pears to have no communication with acritical but ignored patient cohort: thosesuffering from Myalgic Encephalomyeli-tis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syn-drome, and often referred to only as ME/CFS. The NIH does not appear to hearthe cries of the petitioners at its door; itseems to be interested only in classifyingand defining the disease.
According to the Centers for DiseaseControl, ME/CFS afflicts 1 million peoplein the United States, and 17 million peo-ple around the world. While those num-bers of victims are disputed, their suffer-ing is not; they are ill in a terrible way.
ME/CFS takes healthy — often athletic— people and casts them into a shadowworld of physical incapacity, mental fog,loneliness and relentless dependence onothers. The suffering is measured inyears and decades. Suicide is common.
It is a disease of the immune system,but what triggers it is unknown. Physi-cians who treat ME/CFS have told methat they would rather have cancer thanthis disease. One epidemiologist said,“With cancer, you are cured or you die.ME/CFS just goes on and on. You live thelife of a zombie.”
From a physician devoted to treatingand researching ME/CFS, this is not onlya terrible admission, but also a de factoindictment of the national effort to find acure, or even a therapy, for alleviating thesuffering.
One of the problems affecting ME/CFStreatment is diagnosis. There are no bi-ological labels, known as markers, thatenable doctors to easily identify ME/CFS;it cannot be picked up in a blood tests ora urine sample. It is a ghostly manifesta-tion, and doctors fall back on what isknown as wastebasket diagnosis. In itssimplest form, this means testing for alot of diseases and if it does not turn outto be one of them, it could be ME/CFS.
But one case definition has satisfiedthe ME/CFS community in recent years,and it is endorsed by specialists in thefield. Established in 2001, it is called theCanadian Consensus Criteria.
Yet, incomprehensibly, the NIH isspending some of the paltry $6 million de-voted to ME/CFS, on a study to come upwith a new case definition for the dis-ease; something that no one wants andwhich could do real harm.
To do this work, the NIH selected theInstitute of Medicine, which has no ex-pertise in ME/CFS and which had drawnopprobrium with its clumsy attempt todo a case definition of Gulf War Syn-drome.
The NIH, which has failed to explainitself in plain English, has ignited incan-descent rage in the patient communityand from patient advocates. In a uniqueoutpouring of objection, 50 of the world’stop doctors and clinicians wrote to Secre-tary of Health and Human Services Kath-leen Sibelius, pleading with her not tomuddy the waters and to stay with thedefinition which is working well. TheNIH went ahead with the IOM contract.
So lacking is government support,moral as well as financial, that the re-search community, including dedicatedphysicians such as Andreas Kogelnik ofMountain View, Calif., Daniel Peterson ofIncline Village, Nev., and Derek Enlanderof New York City, feel they have to raisefunds privately to continue their work.Even celebrity virus hunter Ian Lipkin ofColumbia University has abandonedhope of getting his seminal work fundedby the NIH and has joined the research-ers who have had to hold out beggingbowls to the public to do their research.
Judging by social media, the entire pa-tient community is in a state of meta-phorical war with the NIH.
There is a cry from and on behalf ofthe pitiable sick for action, sympathy andeven courtesy from the bureaucrats inBethesda, where the NIH is headquar-tered. The Hippocratic Oath says, “firstdo no harm.” When people are in painand despair, inaction is palpable harm.
A congressional hearing is needed toinvestigate decision-making in the NIH,find out about its budget request to theOffice of Management and Budget, and todemand that it listen to those who sufferand those who are trying to help them.
(Llewellyn King is executive producerand host of ”White House Chronicle” onPBS. His e-mail is [email protected].)
COLUMN
Case ofelusivedisease
By LLEWELLYN KINGHEARST NEWSPAPERS
OTHER VIEWS
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To be published, lettersmust include the writer’s firstand last names as well as aphone number to verify iden-tity. The phone number IS
NOT published; it is usedsolely to verify identity and toclarify content, if necessary.Identity of the letter writermust be verified before pub-lication.
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readers that a letter is writ-ten by the person who signsthe letter. The Zapata Timesdoes not allow the use ofpseudonyms.
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Via e-mail, send letters [email protected] ormail them to Letters to theEditor, 111 Esperanza Drive,Laredo, TX 78041.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
In the first days of a crisislike the Russian invasion ofCrimea, the questions are oper-ational: How many troops?Where are they? Should wecancel just the planning sessionfor the Group of Eight meetingin Sochi or abandon it altogeth-er? Should the president issue astatement? Leave it to JohnKerry and Joe Biden?
Then come the recrimina-tions. It is Khrushchev’s faultfor giving Ukraine a peninsulasoaked in Russian blood. Theoverthrow of Viktor Yanuko-vych by the mobs was a bit toomuch. Maybe it was a mistaketo give gay athletes such aprominent role on the Ameri-can team at Sochi.
The final stage is excuses.Vladimir Putin is an unpredict-able autocrat. There is not a lotwe can do about this other thanmake some gestures that willbe forgotten in six months any-way. Besides, the Bush adminis-tration didn’t do anything seri-ous about Russia’s invasion ofGeorgia in 2008, so who are theRepublicans to point fingers?
This sequence of events mis-ses the deeper causes of the cri-sis, its larger frame and, aboveall, the long-term consequences.
In retrospect, historians willnot find it difficult to piece to-gether why and how this hap-pened: Putin is indeed a brutalGreat Russian nationalist whounderstands that Russia with-out a belt of subservient clientstates is not merely a veryweak power but also vulnerableto the kind of upheaval that
toppled Yanukovych’s corruptand oppressive regime. Uk-raine’s chaos and Crimea’sanomalous history gave theopening; Russian adeptness atthe dark arts of provocationand covert operations providedthe means; President Obama’shistory of issuing warningsand, when they are ignored,moving on smartly to the nexttopic gave a kind of permission.
The largest issue here iswhether Russia will remainbent on disrupting the post-Cold War settlement, includingthrough the overt use of forcein Europe. Absent a severe pen-alty — one that inflicts painwhere Putin can feel it, to in-clude Russia’s economy and hispersonal wealth and control ofthat country — the lessonlearned will be, “You can getaway with it.”
One larger issue is the futureof the Baltic republics, whichalso have Russian minoritiesand whose status as independ-ent states can be no less con-tested than that of Ukraine. Butthe Baltic republics belong toNATO, and Article V of theNorth Atlantic Treaty obligesthe United States and its alliesto fight in their defense. Thusto say that “no one wants a
war,” which is true, is to beginintroducing the propositionthat there is nothing worthfighting for in Europe. In whichcase NATO does not really ex-ist. And then that pillar ofAmerica’s position in the worldsince 1945 has evaporated be-fore our eyes.
“There will be costs,” Presi-dent Obama said on Friday, pre-sumably referring to somethingmore than the aviation fuel forthe transports and bullets inthe guns of the thinly disguisedRussian soldiers occupying Cri-mea. The precedent to be re-membered here is not any pho-ny red line previously pro-claimed but Putin’s op-ed lastfall after the joint deal to (sup-posedly) remove Syrian chem-ical weapons. The Russian lead-er, having gotten what he want-ed, kicked a bit of sand inObama’s face, declaring thatthe United States really is notall that special — neither ideo-logically nor as a great power.
Power is a psychological re-lationship and not just a reflec-tion of material circumstances.At the moment, the Russianpresident, exquisitely sensitiveto the ripples and flow of power,knows that he is a strong mandealing with weakness. That, in
turn, means that he would seeno reason not to push else-where, and hard.
Georgia was a tiny, remotecountry that had foolishly pro-voked the Russians and thatdid not stand a chance whenthey invaded in 2008. The fight-ing was over in days. Therewas no such provocation here,and Ukraine is a big countryon the border of the EuropeanUnion. If Russia can rip off alimb with impunity, why can’tChina do the same with theSenkaku Islands?
Putin is not Hitler, and the2010s are not the 1930s. But theworld is a darkening place, andthe precedents being set areones that will haunt us for dec-ades to come unless the U.S. ad-ministration can act decisivelyand persistently against Russia.Otherwise, Churchill’s wordsafter a not-dissimilar episode,in which a powerful stateseized borderlands inhabited byits ethnic compatriots, will ringtrue again: “And do not sup-pose this is the end. This is on-ly the beginning of the reckon-ing.”
Eliot A. Cohen teaches atJohns Hopkins University. From2007 to 2008, he was counselor ofthe State Department.
COMMENTARY
Anatomy of how west deals withPutin’s Ukrainian power play
By ELIOT A. COHENSPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST The final stage is excuses. Vladimir Putin is an
unpredictable autocrat. There is not a lot we can do aboutthis other than make some gestures that will be forgotten insix months anyway. Besides, the Bush administration didn’tdo anything serious about Russia’s invasion of Georgia.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 Nation THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Anorthern New Jersey honor stu-dent who says her parents kickedher out of the house when sheturned 18 is now suing them,asking a court to make them sup-port her and pay for her college.
A judge in Morristown Tues-day ruled against immediatelyforcing Rachel Canning’s parentsto pay her $650 weekly child sup-port and pay for her remainingyear of high school tuition, asshe requested in a lawsuit filedlast week. Judge Peter Bogaardscheduled a hearing for nextmonth to decide whether to re-quire her parents to pay for Can-ning’s college tuition.
Court documents show fre-quent causes of parent-teenagetension — boyfriends and alcohol— taken to an extreme. In courtfilings, there are accusations anddenials, but one thing is clear:the girl left home Oct. 30, twodays before she turned 18 after atumultuous stretch during whichher parents separated and recon-ciled and the teen began gettinginto uncharacteristic trouble atschool.
In court filings, Canning’s par-ents, retired Lincoln Park policeChief Sean Canning and his wifeElizabeth, said their daughtervoluntarily left home becauseshe didn’t want to abide by rea-sonable household rules, such asbeing respectful, keeping a cur-few, doing a few chores and end-ing a relationship with a boy-friend her parents say is a badinfluence. They say that shortly
before she turned 18, she told herparents that she would be anadult and could do whatever shewanted.
She said her parents are abu-sive, contributed to an eating dis-order she developed and pushedher to get a basketball scholar-ship. They say they were sup-portive, helped her through theeating disorder and paid for herto go to a private school whereshe would not get as much play-ing time in basketball as shewould have at a public school.
They also say she lied in hercourt filing and to child welfareworkers who are involved in thecase.
She’s been living in RockawayTownship with the family of herbest friend. The friend’s father,former Morris County Freehol-der John Inglesino, is paying forthe lawsuit.
Inglesino told the The DailyRecord of Parsippany that he andhis wife decided to pay for thelawsuit because they fear Can-ning will lose opportunities for astrong education and a happy fu-ture without her parents’ contri-butions.
A cheerleader and lacrosseplayer who hopes to become abiomedical engineer, Canning isseeking immediate financial sup-port and wants to force her par-ents to pay for her college educa-tion and more than $5,000 owedfor her last semester at MorrisCatholic High School. She alsowants a judge to declare thatshe’s non-emancipated and de-pendent as a student on her par-ents for support.
Rachel Canning smiles during a hearing Tuesday, in Morristown, N.J. Canning,who says her parents kicked her out when she turned 18, is now suing them.
Photo by Gerald Herbert/The Star-Ledger | AP
Teen won’t getimmediate aid
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. —Motorists were stranded over-night and into Tuesday on icyeastern Arkansas interstates,and the state was bringing fuelto people stuck so long thatthey ran out of gas, slowing ef-forts to make the roads passa-ble.
The icy conditions have lin-gered since a weekend stormthat dumped a half a foot snowon the ground in parts of theSouth, Mid-Atlantic and North-east. Some drivers said they’vebeen stranded at a West Mem-phis truck stop since Sundaynight because they couldn’t getout of the parking lot.
Traffic was stalled Tuesdayon I-55 southbound betweenBlytheville and West Memphisand ice created snarls over a40-mile stretch of I-40 betweenForrest City and the Mississip-pi River. Those areas had themost extreme tie-ups, but therewere trouble spots scatteredacross almost the entire state.
“I understand that it takes alot of money to buy salt andsand for the roads. Still, theyknew ice was coming. Theycould have done better thanwhat they have done,” saidtrucker Ted Simpson, 56, whowas hauling a load of card-board boxes from Murfreesbo-ro, Tenn., to Russellville, Ark.
Simpson got off the inter-state in West Memphis andspoke while waiting for dieselin a half-mile line thatstretched from a truck stop.
Gov. Mike Beebe’s office saidmembers of the Arkansas Na-tional Guard and Game andFish officers were bringingfuel to motorists who ran outof gas. The governor’s office al-so noted in a statement thatthe Arkansas Highway andTransportation Department “isconstitutionally independentfrom the governor’s office andother state agencies.”
“We’ve been trying to figureout why the highway depart-ment wasn’t there quicker withtreating those roads,” Beebesaid. “They tell us that whathappened to them, and I have
to rely on what they say, thatthey did pre-treat them but therain washed it off and thenwas suddenly hit with the ice.”
Highway department spokes-man Randy Ort said it is noeasy task to clear the roadswhen they’re packed with ice.
“We’ll get a jackknifed rigmoved and traffic will moveand then something else willhappen,” Ort said.
Roads that did thaw wereforecast to refreeze overnight.The storm was followed by ablast of arctic air that sent tem-peratures plummeting into thesingle digits, though the fore-cast for West Memphis calls fortemperatures to rise in thenext few days.
At a Petro truck stop, morethan 100 semi-trucks werestranded in the parking lotTuesday.
Tom Pate, who was haulinggrain from Owensboro, Ky., toWaco, Texas, was among thosewho said he’d been there sinceSunday night He echoed thethoughts of many when he saidthe state failed to treat theroads ahead of the storm. Oth-ers complained that the truckstop had not done enough toclear its parking lot.
A message left for Ohio-based Petro after hours Tues-day wasn’t immediately return-ed.
Trucker Ralph Wilson, 62,said he called state police andtraffic information to no avail.
“You’ve got millions of dol-lars of goods just sitting there,that are going right down the
tube,” said Wilson, who washauling steel from Fort Smithto Georgetown, Ky. “You can’tget a wrecker, you can’t getstate police out here to do any-thing.”
With temperatures in theteens and single digits over-night, crews were limited inwhat they could accomplish,Ort said, noting road salt is in-effective when temperaturesdrop below 22 degrees.
On Interstate 40 from Ten-nessee into Arkansas, trafficedged along at 5 mph.
Sandra Lockhart Robertssaid her car had moved littlemore than a mile in 45 min-utes.
“It’s a total inconvenience,”she said. “It’s so stressful.Stressful. I have to calm down.Patience is a virtue.”
Trucker Daniel Rayford, 38,said it took him about ninehours to get from Little Rock toMemphis on Monday. The tripusually takes two hours.
“It’s crazy,” Rayford said inWest Memphis, about 130 mileseast of Little Rock. “To get toLittle Rock from here, fromwhat I saw last night, I mightget there sometime tonight andit’s 11:15 a.m.”
Ort said state police had tostop what movement there wason the highways so tow truckscould reach disabled vehicles.
“People get very frustratedwhen they don’t see us work-ing on the roadway,” Ort said.“If they’re not moving then wecan’t move. We understandtheir frustration.”
Recovering from the iceMotorists stranded onicy eastern Arkansas
roads getting gasolineBy ADRIAN SAINZASSOCIATED PRESS
Eastbound traffic moves slowly on icy Interstate 40 near Forrest City, Ark., onMonday. Some motorists on the highway in eastern Arkansas were strandedovernight due to lingering icy conditions from a weekend winter storm.
Photo by Kendall Owens/Times-Herald | AP
ZAPATA03/08— A las 7 a.m. se
realizará un desayuno conlos participantes del Trail Ri-de de ZCFA en el área Bus-tamante Roping. A las 8a.m. comenzará el paseodesde ahí. A las 12:30 p.m.habrá una comida para losparticipantes en ZapataCounty Fairgrounds Pavilion.
LAREDO03/05— Novena cele-
bración del Día Internacionalde la Mujer en Laredo Com-munity College rendirá ho-menaje a 18 mujeres locales,por sus logros y contribucio-nes a la comunidad, a las 12p.m. en el William N. “Billy”Hall Jr. Student Center enLCC-Campus del Sur. Eventogratuito.
03/05— Clínica de Va-cunación contra la Rabia se-rá de 6 p.m. a 7 p.m. en elLaredo Animal Care Facility,5202 Maher Avenue. El cos-to por vacuna es de 12 dóla-res. El microchip cuesta 10dólares y el registro es de 5dólares. Otras vacunas estándisponibles, según se solicitepor un costo adicional.
03/05— Se presenta elRecital Voice Studio Midtermdentro del Salón de Recita-les del Center for the Fineand Performing Arts de TA-MIU a las 7:30 p.m.
03/06— Feria para Ca-rreras Empresariales y Hos-pitalarias en Texas A&M In-ternational University se lle-vará a cabo de 1 p.m. a 4p.m. en el Student CenterRotunda de TAMIU. Eventogratuito y abierto a la comu-nidad.
03/06— El recital deapertura de Alumnos de Artede TAMIU tendrá lugar en laGalería de Bellas Artes y Ar-tes Escénicas de la universi-dad a las 6 p.m. Evento gra-tuito y abierto al público.Más información llamando al326-2654.
03/06— Recepción deapertura de “Visiones deAnáhuac” una exhibición depinturas de José María Ve-lasco, de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. enel Villa Antigua Border Heri-tage Museum, 810 ZaragozaSt. 03/07— Octavo St. Ju-de’s Trike-A-Thon anual porlos estudiantes del Centrode Desarrollo Infantil CamiloPrada, se realizará de 9:30a.m. a 11:30 a.m. en elComplejo Recreativo del La-redo Community College,Campus del Sur. Lo que serecaude se donará al St. Ju-de’s Children’s ResearchHospital.
03/07— BÉISBOL: Elequipo Dustdevil de TAMIUrecibe a Rogers State Uni-versity (DH) a las 12 p.m. enJorge Haynes Field. Costo: 5dólares.
03/07— SOFTBÓL: Elequipo Dustdevil de TAMIUrecibe a Rogers State Uni-versity (DH) a las 12 p.m. enDustdevil Field. Costo: 5 dó-lares.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO03/05— Cine Club ‘Car-
men González’ presenta“Miércoles de Ceniza” deRoberto Govaldon, a las 6p.m. en el Auditorio de Esta-ción Palabra.
03/06— La OrquestaSinfónica Infantil y Juvenil sepresentará en concierto a las7 p.m. en la sala Sergio Pe-ña.
03/07— Maquila Creati-va presenta el “Mes del Gra-fitti” con la proyección depelículas sobre Banksy yotros artistas urbanos, a las5 p.m. Entrada libre.
03/07— El Instituto Mu-nicipal de la Mujer invita aconmemorar el Día Interna-cional de la Mujer con elevento “Palabra de Mujer”en el Teatro Experimental delCentro Cultural, a las 5 p.m.Participarán la periodistaLydia Cacho, la escritoraGuadalupe Loaeza y la psicó-loga Marina Castañeda.
Agendaen Breve
Reportes que circularon a travésde Internet durante el fin de sema-na señalaron que Benjamín GalvánGómez, ex Presidente Municipal deNuevo Laredo, México, quien fue se-cuestrado la semana pasada, habíasido encontrado sin vida cerca desu casa.
Pero la esposa de Galván, MarthaAlicia Aldapa, dijo el domingo porla noche, a través de una publica-ción en Facebook, que se encuentraesperando “buenas noticias”.
“Gracias a todos por sus pala-bras, pero seguimos esperando queregrese con bien”, escribió. “Siga-mos en oración para recibir buenasnoticias pronto”.
El sábado, un oficial de Nuevo
Laredo, México, confirmó que Gal-ván fue secuestrado en la ciudad eljueves. El oficial tenía conocimientodel caso y habló en condición deanonimato.
Un sitio en Internet, Nuevo Lare-do en Vivo, reportó que Galván y suchofer habían sido secuestrados al-rededor de las 9 p.m. en calle Cam-peche y avenida Aquiles Serdán, enla colonia Madero, al este de NuevoLaredo.
Supuestamente Galván y su cho-fer fueron interceptados mientrasviajaban en el vehículo, el cual en-contraron abandonado.
El viernes, Rubén Darío Ríos Ló-pez, un vocero de la Oficina Generaldel Fiscal del Estado de Tamaulipas,dijo que la oficina no había sido no-tificada sobre el supuesto secuestro.
Galván se convirtió en el Presi-dente número 85 de Nuevo Laredoen 2011. Sirvió por un periodo detres años que concluyó en 2013.
Alrededor de las 11 a.m. del 29 dejunio de 2012, un coche bomba ex-plotó en la parte frontal del ayunta-miento en Nuevo Laredo. Este suce-so dejó a varias personas heridas ydañó 11 vehículos y el edificio delayuntamiento.
La agencia de Seguridad Públicade Tamaulipas y la Oficina del Fis-cal General dijeron, a través de uncomunicado que una camionetaFord Ranger, con placas de Coahui-la, fue utilizada en el atentado.
El vehículo fue colocado en el lu-gar reservado para que el vehículode Galván fuera estacionado, alrede-dor de 33 pies de su oficina en el se-
gundo piso, con vista hacia la calleHéroe de Nacataz.
Galván no estaba en su oficina almomento de la explosión.
Alrededor de dos meses antes dela explosión, 14 cabezas fueron en-contradas en tres hieleras en un ve-hículo estacionado en avenida Juá-rez, entre Maclovio Herrera y Hé-roe de Nacataz, frente alAyuntamiento.
Testigos reportaron las hielerasfrente al edificio, y soldados delEjército Mexicano y expertos en ex-plosivos fueron llamados a la escenapara investigaciones.
Entonces se descubrieron las 14cabezas dentro de las hieleras, juntocon una “manta”, la cual, de acuer-do con las autoridades, fue escritapor el Cártel de Sinaloa.
CASO DE SECUESTRO DE BENJAMÍN GALVÁN
Esperan regresoTIEMPO DE ZAPATA
PÁGINA 6A Zfrontera MIÉRCOLES 05 DE MARZO DE 2014
La cabalgata que marca el iniciooficial de la Feria del Condado de Za-pata en su edición número 42, se lle-vará a cabo el sábado en punto de las8 a.m.
Al final de la cabalgata, la cual ini-ciará en Bustamante Arena para ter-minar su recorrido hasta el ZapataCounty Fair Pavillion, se realizará elcorte de listón inaugural de la feriaque en esta ocasión estará a cargo deJessica Villarreal, presidenta de la Fe-ria del Condado, junto a otras perso-nalidades de la localidad.
Diversas actividades como la exhi-bición de animales, desfile, proyectosde arte, manualidades, fotografía, pre-sentaciones musicales, carnaval, en-tre otras, podrán ser disfrutadas porgrandes y chicos desde el próximomiércoles 12 hasta el sábado 15 demarzo.
Dora Martínez, integrante del co-mité de la cabalgata para la feria delcondado, explicó que en el pasado hancontado con la presencia de hasta 150participantes entre niños y adultos.
“El costo por participar es de cincodólares e incluye el desayuno y la co-mida. Cada quien debe llevar su caba-llo”, dijo Martínez.
El recorrido de la cabalgata abarcaunas 15 millas.
“La tradicional cabalgata es unevento donde todos aquellos que sien-ten pasión por montar a caballo y porlas actividades al aire libre, puedantomar parte en una gran experienciaque reúne a la comunidad”, indicaJessica Villarreal en el mensaje debienvenida del sitio de Internet de laferia.
Al término de la cabalgata los jine-tes se reunirán para el tradicionalcorte de listón seguido de una comi-da.
Para mayores informes acerca de lainscripción en esta actividad y even-tos de la feria, puede acceder a la pá-gina de Internet en www.zapatacount-yfair.com
(Localice a Malena Charur en el 728-2583 o en [email protected])
CONDADO DE ZAPATA
Inicianferia concabalgata
POR MALENA CHARUR TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
En el, a veces sutiles,Himno Nacional Mexicanoy el himno a Tamaulipasexisten nexos únicos. Si se-guimos la huella, recorrere-mos así ruta de lectura. Conbreves renglones basta.
Olvidada pronto la piezamusical, el vínculo tamauli-peco repuntó al encabezar
el régimen centralista Anto-nio López de Santa Anna,estando este ausente hubonecesidad de reestrenar alotro día en presencia del se-nil dictador, nunca entrególos premios estipulados.
Rumbo al extranjero anteel pronunciamiento deAyutla, tampoco promulgóel decreto que adoptaba lacomposición.
No obstante, el HimnoNacional Mexicano surgiríaunido a Tamaulipas. Lo an-terior, pues entonces conme-
moraba el XXV aniversariodel triunfo sobre la intento-na española de reconquista,cuyas glorias regentearaSanta Anna. Dicha gesta tu-vo lugar justo donde colindala entidad con Veracruz.
FaenaOficializado durante la
dictadura porfiriana, elHimno Nacional Mexicanoacrecentó nexos con el no-reste extremo de México, de-
bido a la visita de JaimeNunó a Ciudad Victoria, ca-pital de Tamaulipas, reci-biéndolo la Escuela Anexa ala Normal, en calle Hidalgoy callejón 12. De avanzadaedad, arribaría hecho “unviejecito maravillosamentebello”, recordó Emilio Por-tes Gil.
Miles de niños le tributa-ron afectuosa bienvenida.
Cuando iba a tomar lapalabra –añade Portes Gil—,le ganó el llanto. “No tengausted cuidado, señor el me-
jor discurso que nos ha po-dido decir, son las lágrimasque han rodado por sus me-jillas”, habría manifestadoel gobernador.
Dizque verificada la re-cepción en 1903, Nunó tras-puso las fronteras naciona-les sólo en 1901 y 1904. Con-trasta asimismo elalmibarado relato transcritocon las crónicas de prensa.Al confesar que el himno locompuso en 1854 “sin másimpulso que el premio dequinientos pesos” — repro-cha cierto periódico capitali-no—,
“Nunó, por propia confe-sión, no hizo más que unafaena vulgar”.
COLUMNA
Historiador narra nexos de himno mexicanoPOR RAÚL SINECIO
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
(En esta historia Raúl Si-necio nos narra el surgimien-to del Himno Nacional Mex-icano y la relación que el com-positor tuvo con el estado deTamaulipas. Segunda de dospartes).
Himno Nacional de México tendría raíces en Tamaulipas, debido a lasvivencias que tuvo el autor en el estado vecino.
El 1 de marzo de2014, las ciudades fron-terizas de la Ciudad deRoma y la Ciudad deMiguel Alemán, Ta-maulipas, México, sereunieron para el ani-versario número 86 delPuente Colgante. Cercade 100 personas de am-bas ciudades asistieronal evento. El objetivodel evento es establecerun acuerdo bilateralentre las autoridadesde Roma, Texas, y Ciu-dad Miguel Alemán,donde un compromisopermanente entre lasdos regiones establece,como acuerdo, alinearlas acciones comunes,para encaminarlas enbeneficio y bienestarde las personas que vi-ven a ambos lados dela frontera, consideran-do los lazos ancestralesde la familia, historia,sectores geográficos,económicos, sociales,políticos y culturales.
Santiago Rodríguez,reportero de Enlace se
desempeñó como maes-tro de ceremonias. Loscadetes de JROTC deRoma High School, pre-sentaron los colores deambas naciones, asímismo Yomara Cortez,finalista de La Voz Mé-xico realizó la entona-ción del Himno Nacio-nal de Estados Unidosy el Himno NacionalMexicano. El Juez delCondado Starr, EloyVera y el Comisionadodel Condado del Pre-cinto 2 de Starr, RoyPeña, realizaron unadeclaración sobre lahistoria del puente.Carlos Rugerio, Direc-tor del Archivo Gene-ral del Estado de Ta-maulipas e historiadorde la Ciudad de Roma,habló con detalle acer-ca de la historia y elfuturo de rehabilita-ción del Puente Col-gante. El alcalde deCiudad Miguel Ale-mán, Ramiro CortezBarrera y el Alcalde dela ciudad de Roma JoséAlfredo Guerra Jr., fir-maron el acuerdo bila-teral.
ROMA-MIGUEL ALEMÁN
86 ANIVERSARIO
En la fotografía se muestra el puente colgante que une a las ciudades de Roma, Texas y la ciudad de Miguel Alemán, Méx-ico, tras su construcción.
Foto de cortesía
Celebran a Puente de suspensiónRoma-San Pedro de Roma
POR MARTIZA PEÑAESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El pasado 1 de marzo, el Alcalde de la Ciudad de Roma,Texas, José Alfredo Guerra Jr., a la derecha, y el Presidentede Ciudad de Miguel Alemán, México, Ramiro Cortez Barre-ra, firmaron un acuerdo bilateral a favor del bienestar so-cial en ambos lados de la frontera.
Foto de cortesía
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 International THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
CULIACAN, Mexico —The number of people re-ported arrested during ademonstration in favor ofcaptured drug lord Joa-quin “El Chapo” Guzmanrose to 211 Monday, as out-rage grew over what somefear is the glorification of aman considered the hemi-sphere’s most powerfultrafficker.
“As a Mexican citizen,this really makes me indig-nant,” Attorney GeneralJesus Murillo Karam saidof Sunday’s demonstration.“It cannot be that someonewho has bragged aboutkilling and injuring andhurting so many peoplecould be defended in thisway.”
Police and local courtsearlier reported that about100 people had been de-tained as police tried tobreak up the protest inGuzman’s home state of Si-naloa in northern Mexico.By early Monday, the finaltally of those detained ondisturbing-the-peace charg-es had more than doubled.
Marchers chanted“Freedom!” and “Chapo!”as they walked the streetsof Culiacan, the Sinaloastate capital, and carriedsigns opposing possible ex-tradition of the drug lord
to the U.S., something Mex-ican authorities have al-ready said won’t happensoon.
Local Judge Gabriel Pe-na Gonzalez said all but 30of the 211 people arrestedat the protest had beenfreed. Many paid fines thataveraged about 500 pesos($37) apiece, but otherssaid they had been unfair-ly detained just becausethey were walking in thearea.
Protester Aida Hermo-sillo complained about theheavy presence of localand federal police at themarch.
“They want to arrest usall and I think we have aright of free speech. We arethe people. Are they goingto take us all because wewant to march?”
The Sinaloa state hu-man rights commissionsaid it was investigating.
The march ended withgunshots, though it wasunclear who fired theshots.
Sunday’s demonstrationfollowed a Wednesdaymarch in Culiacan duringwhich hundreds of peopleshouted pro-Guzman slo-gans and demanded his re-lease, saying he had pro-vided local residents withjobs, income and protec-tion from violent crime.
The show of support for
Guzman has sparked fearshe may become some sortof folk hero, though somemarchers said they hadbeen offered 700 pesos(about $53) paid to partici-pate.
In an editorial publishedSunday, the Roman Catho-lic Archdiocese of Mexicodecried what it called thecountry’s “Chaponization”— an apparent play on“canonization,” part of theprocess of declaring a per-son a saint.
“Events in society sug-gest an alarming declinein society and the govern-ment. It is amazing to seea public invitation tomarch in favor of a crimi-nal and demand his re-lease,” the archdiocesesaid in an editorial on itswebsite, “Desde la Fe.”
“This is not only regret-table ... it also raises ques-tions,” the editorial said.“Who was corrupted byChapo’s money to supportthis march?”
The editorial said that“we should worry aboutthe narco-culture and themythologizing of a capo,the corruption of author-ities who protect and coverup for drug cartels, andworry about the situationof the people of Sinaloa,manipulated and aban-doned by those responsiblefor public welfare.”
More marchers jailed
Police arrest protesters during a march in support of jailed drug boss Joaquin Guzman Loera, ”El Cha-po,” in Culiacan, Mexico, on Feb. 26. Hundreds of people demanded that Guzman be freed.
Photo by Esthela Chiquete/El Debate de Culiacan | AP
By MARTIN DURANASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — Steppingback from the brink ofwar, Vladimir Putin talkedtough but cooled tensionsin the Ukraine crisis in hisfirst comments since itspresident fled, saying Tues-day that Russia has no in-tention “to fight the Ukrai-nian people” but reservedthe right to use force.
As the Russian presi-dent held court in his per-sonal residence, U.S. Secre-tary of State John Kerrymet with Kiev’s fledglinggovernment and Moscowagreed to sit down withNATO.
Although nerves re-mained on edge in Crimea,with Russian troops firingwarning shots to ward offUkrainian soldiers, globalmarkets catapulted higheron tentative signals thatthe Kremlin was not seek-ing to escalate the conflict.Kerry brought moral sup-port and a $1 billion aidpackage to a Ukraine fight-ing to fend off bankruptcy.
Lounging in an arm-chair before Russian tricol-or flags, Putin delivered aperformance filled withearthy language, machoswagger and sarcasticjibes, accusing the West ofpromoting an “unconstitu-tional coup” in Ukraine. Atone point he compared theU.S. role to an experimentwith “lab rats.”
But the overall messageappeared to be one of de-es-calation. “It seems to me(Ukraine) is gradually sta-bilizing,” Putin said. “Wehave no enemies in Uk-raine. Ukraine is a friendlystate.”
He tempered those com-ments by warning thatRussia was willing to use“all means at our disposal”
to protect ethnic Russiansin the country.
Significantly, Russiaagreed to a NATO requestto hold a special meetingto discuss Ukraine onWednesday in Brussels,opening up a possible dip-lomatic channel in a con-flict that still holds monu-mental hazards and uncer-tainties.
While the threat of mil-itary confrontation retreat-ed somewhat Tuesday, bothsides ramped up economicfeuding in their struggleover Ukraine. Russia hitits nearly broke neighborwith a termination of dis-counts on natural gas,while the U.S. announced a$1 billion aid package inenergy subsidies.
“We are going to do ourbest (to help you). We aregoing to try very hard,”Kerry said upon arrivingin Kiev. “We hope Russiawill respect the electionthat you are going tohave.”
Ukraine’s finance minis-ter, who has said Ukraineneeds $35 billion to getthrough this year andnext, was meeting Tuesdaywith officials from the In-ternational MonetaryFund.
World stock markets,which slumped the previ-ous day, clawed back alarge chunk of their losses
Tuesday on signs that Rus-sia was backpedaling.Gold, the Japanese yenand U.S. treasuries — allseen as safe havens — re-turned some of their gains.Russia’s RTS index, whichfell 12 percent on Mondayrose 6.2 percent Tuesday.In the U.S., the Dow Jonesindustrial average was up1.2 percent.
“Confidence in equitymarkets has been restoredas the standoff betweenUkraine and Russia is nolonger on red alert,” saidDavid Madden, marketanalyst at IG.
Russia took over thestrategic peninsula of Cri-mea on Saturday, placingits troops around its ferry,military bases and borderposts.
“Those unknown peoplewithout insignia who haveseized administrativebuildings and airports ...what we are seeing is akind of velvet invasion,”said Russian military ana-lyst Alexander Golts.
The territory’s enduringvolatility was put in starkrelief Tuesday morning:Russian troops, who hadtaken control of the Belbekair base, fired warningshots into the air as some300 Ukrainian soldiers,who previously mannedthe airfield, demandedtheir jobs back.
The right to use force
Pro Russian soldiers guard an infantry base in Perevalne, Ukraine,on Tuesday. Tensions stayed high in the Crimea peninsula.
Photo by Sergei Grits | AP
Russia’s presidentbacks off, butkeeps talkingBy VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
AND TIM SULLIVANASSOCIATED PRESS
Sports&OutdoorsWEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
LAREDO — The Zapatagirls’ golf team placed fifth atthe Border Olympics golf tour-nament at the Max Mandelgolf course Friday and Satur-day.
The field included 13 teamsfrom the 4A and 5A level.
"The girls are playing wellbut they know they can scoremuch better," Zapata head golfcoach Clyde Guerra Jr. said."We had many putts for par,but did not convert on many.Our short game is what we
need to improve, both boys’and girls’. So our practices willtake place around the greenfrom 50 yards in."
Pacing the Lady Hawks’girls’ golf team is senior Lean-na Saenz, who has been theface of the program for thepast few years. Saenz is the de-fending District 31-3A cham-pion and is poised to make an-other run at the title.
Rounding out the girls’ golfteam are seniors Krysta Loza-no and Jessenia Garza alongwith sophomores AndreaReyes and Kaity Ramirez.
Over the two-day tourna-
ment, Saenz had a score of 93-93 for a score of 186 whileReyes dropped a 95-92 for a 187.The duo were followed by Ra-mirez (96-103, 199), Lozano (106-98, 204) and Garza (98-113, 211).
"All the girls at some pointin the round played goodthree-five hole stretches, butwe need to be able to put to-gether 18 holes with minimalmistakes," Guerra said.
Senior Rod Saldivar, juniorRamiro Torres, sophomoreClyde Guerra III and freshmenConner Moreno and ClementeCruz make up the boys’ golfteam. That group will be head-
sends a large number of liftersto the state meet. In the 105-weight division Jackie Garciafinished second while DelaneyCooper grabbed the same spotin the 148-pound division.Amanda Esquivel (181-pound)and Gaby Reyes (220-pound) al-so came in second in their re-spective divisions.
Brianna Gonzalez (114) andAlana Montes (123) bothgrabbed gold at the meet.
Zapata is gearing up for thestate meet in Corpus Christion March 14.
E-mail: [email protected]
ing to the South Padre IslandGolf Club on Friday and Satur-day for its next competition.
Powerlifting sends 13 to stateThe girls’ powerlifting team
is sending 13 of its 20 membersto state after surviving the re-gional meet in Pleasanton lastweekend.
Zapata’s 42 points tied Crys-tal City for the top spot, butwere bumped down to secondplace because the Lady Javeli-nas had one more first placethan the Lady Hawks. Twenty-two teams attended the Region5 Division II meet.
Zapata’s second place finish
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA HAWKS
Powerlifting on to states
The Zapata girls’ powerlifting team is sending 13 of the 20 team members to the state meet after a strong performance at last week’s regional meet in Pleasanton.
Courtesy photo
13 make cut; girls’ golf finishes 5th at Border OlympicsBy CLARA SANDOVAL
THE ZAPATA TIMES
DALLAS — Dirk No-witzki joked after a lossto San Antonio that theMavericks don’t “want tosee anyone” in the play-offs, given their recent re-cord against winningteams.
Dallas hasn’t beatenany of its likely first-round opponents in morethan two months — andthat’s assuming the Ma-vericks get in after a 12-year streak of reachingthe playoffs ended lastseason.
At the moment, Dallasis one of four teams in atight battle for the finalthree playoff spots in theWestern Conference.
And yes, Nowitzki says,the Mavericks need tobeat Portland on Friday.Or Oklahoma City whenthey play twice in a spanof nine days. Or the LosAngeles Clippers in a pairof games a week apart.
“Not necessarily justfor confidence but also be-cause we want to stay in
the playoff hunt,” Nowitz-ki said. “If we keep losingagainst the good teams,most of our games left areagainst teams with win-ning records. We’ve got tokeep winning at a highclip if we want to make itand so the pressure’s on.You gotta love it.”
A 112-106 loss to theSpurs on Sunday droppedDallas to 0-6 against thetop five teams in the Westsince a victory againstHouston on Dec. 23.
Since then, the Maver-icks have blown big leadsat home against the Rock-ets and Clippers. They’vefallen 38 points behindthe Trail Blazers, also athome. They haven’t beenable to get a substantiallead against the Spurs.
All of which meansnothing to coach RickCarlisle because all hesees is Wednesday night’sgame at Denver, whichhas been in free fall be-cause of injuries but fi-nally has point guard TyLawson back.
“The analysis of whichteams are better ones and
all that, I mean, we’re go-ing to see them when wesee them,” Carlisle said.“Right now, we’ve got tofocus on Denver.”
After the Nuggets, theMavericks get the Blazersat home, followed twonights later by East-lead-ing Indiana. The Pacersactually represent the lastimpressive win for Dallasin the final game beforethe break.
The victory at Indianacame during a 10-2 stretchfor Dallas, but eight of thewins were against teamswith losing records. Afterfour straight wins againstsub-.500 teams, the Maver-icks had a big lead earlyagainst Chicago but letthe Bulls pull away in thefourth quarter.
Now Dallas has losttwo straight to winningteams. After facing theNuggets, the Mavericksget three straight win-ning teams. That happensagain when they figure tobe battling for a playoffberth in the last threegames, including the fi-nale at Memphis, one of
the teams in the battle forthe final three spots.
“You either rise to thechallenge or you don’t,”Carlisle said. “And rightnow our mindset is we’vegot to rise above all chal-lenges, but we’ve got to doit collectively.”
To Carlisle, that meanshelp for Nowitzki, who isthe closest he’s been tochampionship form sinceDallas beat Miami for thetitle in 2011.
Monta Ellis, Jose Cal-deron and Devin Harrisgive the Mavericks a bet-ter backcourt than theydid when they missed theplayoffs a year ago, andVince Carter has been ago-to scorer more often asthe sixth man after a slowstart to the season.
New center Sam Da-lembert’s production fig-ures strongly in Dallas’chances, and a team thathas been defensively chal-lenged at times will leanon Shawn Marion toshore up that area.
“Every game here ishuge and we know it,”Nowitzki said.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: DALLAS MAVERICKS
Mavs fighting for playoff spotDallas 0-6 against top five teams in West over last two months
By SCHUYLER DIXONASSOCIATED PRESS
With no shortage of scorers, especially in the backcourt, the Ma-vericks are counting on veterans like Shawn Marion to help shoreup any defensive issues. Dallas holds one of the three final playoffspots in the Western Conference.
Photo by John F. Rhodes | AP
STOCKS OF LOCAL INTERESTYTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgYTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgAT&T Inc NY 1.84 5.7 10 32.15 +.29 -8.6
AEP NY 2.00 4.0 16 50.05 +.33 +7.1
BkofAm NY .04 .2 17 16.73 +.43 +7.5
Caterpillar NY 2.40 2.5 18 97.02 +.71 +6.8
CCFemsa NY 1.19 1.2 ... 96.97 +.87 -20.4
CmtyHlt NY ... ... 28 41.91 +.48 +6.7
ConocoPhil NY 2.76 4.2 11 66.50 +.19 -5.9
Dillards NY .24 .3 13 91.27 -.69 -6.1
EmpIca NY ... ... ... 6.99 +.47 -17.3
ExxonMbl NY 2.52 2.6 10 96.52 +1.02 -4.6
FordM NY .50 3.3 12 15.37 +.17 -.4
FuelCellE Nasd ... ... ... 2.71 +.54 +92.2
GenElec NY .88 3.4 17 25.65 +.53 -8.5
HewlettP NY .58 1.9 11 30.12 +.39 +7.6
HomeDp NY 1.88 2.3 22 82.87 +.87 +.6
iShEMkts NY .86 2.2 ... 39.44 +.66 -5.6
iSh1-3yTB NY .22 .3 ... 84.52 -.07 +.2
iShR2K NY 1.41 1.2 ... 119.83 +2.94 +3.9
Intel Nasd .90 3.7 13 24.61 +.11 -5.2
IntlBcsh Nasd .46 1.9 15 24.64 +1.48 -6.5
IBM NY 3.80 2.0 12 186.44 +2.18 -.6
Lowes NY .72 1.4 24 50.63 +.44 +2.2
Lubys NY ... ... 47 6.63 +.29 -14.1
MetLife NY 1.10 2.1 15 51.19 +1.12 -5.1
MexicoFd NY 3.18 ... ... 25.91 +.34 -11.6
Microsoft Nasd 1.12 2.9 14 38.41 +.63 +2.7
Modine NY ... ... 81 15.35 +.61 +19.7
Penney NY ... ... ... 8.29 +.33 -9.4
PlugPowr h Nasd ... ... ... 6.69 +.87+331.6
Pro7-10yrT NY ... ... ... 52.63 -.79 +6.0
RadioShk NY ... ... ... 2.25 -.47 -13.5
S&P500ETF NY 3.35 1.8 ... 187.58 +2.60 +1.6
Schlmbrg NY 1.60 1.7 18 92.49 +1.23 +2.6
SearsHldgs Nasd ... ... ... 45.84 -.40 -6.5
SonyCp NY .25 1.4 ... 17.36 +.15 +.4
UnionPac NY 3.64 2.0 19 183.85 +4.34 +9.4
USSteel NY .20 .8 ... 24.37 +.31 -17.4
UnivHlthS NY .20 .2 17 81.50 +.43 +.3
VerizonCm NY 2.12 4.4 12 47.90 +.59 -2.5
WalMart NY 1.92 2.6 15 75.13 +1.01 -4.5
WellsFargo NY 1.20 2.6 12 46.74 +.59 +3.0
Zynga Nasd ... ... ... 5.65 +.41 +48.7
STOCK MARKET INDEXES
MONEY RATES CURRENCIES
MUTUAL FUNDS
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Prime Rate
Discount Rate
Federal Funds Rate
Treasuries
3-month
6-month
5-year
10-year
30-year
DAILY DOW JONES
16,588.25 14,030.37 Dow Industrials 16,395.88 +227.85 +1.41 -1.09 +15.03
7,591.43 5,878.12 Dow Transportation 7,466.08 +163.15 +2.23 +.89 +21.66
537.86 462.66 Dow Utilities 518.57 +4.38 +.85 +5.71 +6.21
11,334.65 8,814.76 NYSE Composite 10,489.96 +160.16 +1.55 +.86 +16.84
4,342.59 3,154.79 Nasdaq Composite 4,351.97 +74.67 +1.75 +4.20 +34.98
824.21 681.01 S&P MidCap 824.14 +12.39 +1.53 +.04 +18.88
1,867.92 1,512.29 S&P 500 1,873.91 +28.18 +1.53 +1.38 +21.70
1,382.57 1,092.17 S&P MidCap 1,389.21 +22.94 +1.68 +3.48 +24.41
20,044.39 15,967.60 Wilshire 5000 20,133.02 +322.29 +1.63 +2.17 +23.83
1,193.50 898.40 Russell 2000 1,208.65 +32.29 +2.75 +3.87 +30.33
52-Week YTD 12-moHigh Low Name Last Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg
3.25 3.25
0.75 0.75
.00-.25 .00-.25
0.05 0.05
0.09 0.08
1.54 1.51
2.70 2.70
3.65 3.66
Last PvsWeek
THE MARKET IN REVIEW
Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m WS 618 84.69 +9.3 +25.5/B +18.6/D 4.25 2,500
Columbia ComInfoA m ST 2,499 52.71 +7.9 +24.7/E +19.8/E 5.75 2,000
Eaton Vance WldwHealA m SH 955 12.78 +10.9 +49.9/C +22.6/E 5.75 1,000
Fidelity Select Biotech d SH 11,009 225.79 +11.8 +83.1/A +35.3/A NL 2,500
Fidelity Select BrokInv d SF 835 72.70 +5.1 +30.0/B +24.6/B NL 2,500
Fidelity Select CommEq d ST 347 31.43 +6.0 +30.8/D +24.0/D NL 2,500
Fidelity Select Computer d ST 681 76.44 +7.1 +29.2/D +28.8/A NL 2,500
Fidelity Select ConsFin d SF 249 16.36 +6.6 +23.8/C +21.9/D NL 2,500
Fidelity Select Electron d ST 1,253 69.24 +11.2 +41.5/B +27.2/B NL 2,500
Fidelity Select FinSvc d SF 778 81.69 +5.7 +24.9/B +21.8/D NL 2,500
Fidelity Select SoftwCom d ST 3,838 125.31 +7.7 +46.8/B +32.0/A NL 2,500
Fidelity Select Tech d ST 2,406 132.01 +9.1 +36.9/C +31.0/A NL 2,500
T Rowe Price SciTech ST 2,916 40.79 +6.8 +42.3/B +26.7/C NL 2,500
Vanguard HlthCare SH 10,763 209.62 +10.9 +47.2/C +26.0/C NL 3,000
Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m ST 3,555 16.96 +8.7 +54.0/A +28.9/A 5.75 750
Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min InitName Obj ($Mlns)NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -ForeignLargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng inNAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%.Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
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Facebook 410588 68.80 +1.39
BallardPw 377076 5.36 +1.13
Cisco 341919 21.82 +.25
BlackBerry 320883 10.34 -.03
MicronT 306944 25.11 +.63
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RosettaGn 5.15 +1.08 +26.5
ModusLink 5.68 +1.14 +25.1
FuelCellE 2.71 +.54 +24.9
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HarvAppR 6.19 +1.10 +21.6
MecoxLane 4.74 +.76 +19.1
InterCld wt 10.27 +1.49 +17.0
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ZipRlty 4.06 -.72 -15.1
BioLineRx 2.54 -.38 -13.0
CSVxSht rs 7.18 -.98 -12.0
HowardBcp 10.66 -1.33 -11.1
Gentiva h 9.75 -1.10 -10.1
OvaScience 10.28 -1.08 -9.5
MandDig rs 4.17 -.43 -9.3
ChiMobGm 33.38 -3.09 -8.5
Dndreon 3.07 -.24 -7.3
DIARYAdvanced 2,143
Declined 462
Unchanged 114
Total issues 2,719
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2,378,662,760
Name Vol (00) Last ChgS&P500ETF1563931187.58 +2.60
iShR2K 1056775 119.83 +2.94
BkofAm 982309 16.73 +.43
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Penney 581902 8.29 +.33
VerizonCm 498881 47.90 +.59
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Luxoft n 34.10 +5.27 +18.3
DaqoNEn 52.89 +7.78 +17.2
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Autohme n 47.99 +6.61 +16.0
iP LXR2K 154.65+21.18 +15.9
E-CDang 17.11 +2.28 +15.4
Care.com n 20.47 +2.63 +14.7
Name Last Chg%ChgRadioShk 2.25 -.47 -17.3
BarcShtB 12.94 -2.61 -16.8
PUVixST rs 63.92 -9.60 -13.1
DrxRsaBear 18.34 -2.64 -12.6
C-TrCitiVol 2.90 -.37 -11.3
Lentuo 4.30 -.42 -8.9
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DIARYAdvanced 2,589
Declined 528
Unchanged 90
Total issues 3,207
New Highs 302
New Lows 9
3,624,473,784Volume
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Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filingwith SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent with-in the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un= Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes:b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (salescharges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during theweek. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left.Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unof-ficial.
Australia 1.1182 1.1199
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uu uu
14,500
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S O N D J F
16,000
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16,440Dow Jones industrialsClose: 16,395.88Change: 227.85 (1.4%)
10 DAYS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Jose Cesario Moralespassed away Feb. 28, 2014,at Falcon Lake NursingHome in Zapata.
Mr. Morales lived inKingsville until retirementfrom the Texas Highway
Department. He enjoyedhunting at his ranch in Za-pata County.
Mr. Morales is precededin death by his daughter,Diana Alicia Perez and par-ents, Serapio and VidalaMorales.
Mr. Morales is survivedby his wife Eloisa O. Mo-rales; son Jose C. Jr. (Shel-ly) Morales; daughters Ny-dia E. Morales, Velma E.(Frank) Salinas and VidalaE. (Reynaldo) Silguero; 14grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; and by nu-merous cousins, nephews,nieces, friends and otherfamily members.
Visitation hours wereheld Sunday, March 2, 2014,from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a
rosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.
The funeral processiondeparted Monday, March 3,2014, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal servic-es followed at Zapata Coun-ty Cemetery.
Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 N.U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.
JOSE CESARIO MORALES
Aug. 27, 1927 – Feb. 28, 2014
NEW ORLEANS — Acold, gray day greeted rev-elers — but didn’t deterthem — along paraderoutes Tuesday as the Car-nival season in New Or-leans headed to a crestwith the unabashed cele-bration of Mardi Gras.
The first street march-ing groups, including clar-inetist Pete Fountain’sHalf-Fast Walking Club,were to begin their march-es along oak-lined St.Charles Avenue and intothe business district.
The Zulu parade beganon schedule, led by a NewOrleans police vanguardon horseback that includ-ed Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Later, the floats of Rex— the king of Carnival —and hundreds of trucktrailers decorated by fam-ily and social groupswould wind down St.Charles Avenue.
Rain fell, and umbrellasand raincoats sproutedalong the parade route.Sleet was falling on somemerrymakers in areasnorth and west of the city.
But revelers gatheredby the thousands in theFrench Quarter, where thebawdy side of Mardi Graswould surely be on fulldisplay.
Mark Nelson of St.Louis said he would be inthe mix even in a down-pour for his first MardiGras.
“That’s why God madewashing machines,” Nel-son said as he sipped on adaiquiri.
Revelers lined up near astand on Bourbon Streetwhere artist Gail Vertucciwas painting Carnivalmasks on faces.
“These people are cra-
zy,” she said. “They’ll getpainted no matter what. Itdoesn’t matter if it’s pour-ing rain, these people willline up all day long.”
Die-hards braved theweather in costume in theQuarter.
The weather wasn’t go-ing to stop them.
“We’ll drink, drink,drink until it gets drier,”said Dean Cook of NewOrleans as he walkedBourbon Street dressed asa pirate with vampirefangs.
“Mermaids love the wa-ter,” he said of his wife,Terrina Cook, who wasdressed in a shiny bluemermaid costume.
Along the Uptown pa-rade route, Carol LeBlancand husband Hov LeBlancof New Orleans werestrolling along St. CharlesAvenue with friends Vickiand Duane O’Flynn fromArabi, La. The troupe wasdressed as scarecrows,stuffed with grass andwearing plaid pants andtattered coveralls.
The cold weatherwasn’t worrying LeBlanc.“I’ve got my long johnson,” she said.
Nearby, April Womackand her family had tentsset up. Grills were firedup, and pots of crawfishwere boiling. Theycamped overnight, a fam-ily tradition for almosttwo decades.
“It’s all about location,”she said.
Her cousin, YolandaMoton, said Mardi Gras isthe opportunity for an an-nual family reunion, withrelatives coming from asfar away as Georgia.
“This is the one time ofthe year that everyone inthe family fits this in theirschedule.”
Sue and Kevin Preecefrom Edmonton, Canada,
were at their first MardiGras.
“We wanted to come forMardi Gras for about 10years. It was on my bucketlist, and he (Kevin) madeit happen,” said SuePreece, a social worker.
Ronnie Davis, a profes-sor of economics at theUniversity of New Or-leans, decided to break hisbutton-down image for atleast one day. Clad in tu-tus, he and his wife, Ar-thurine, strolled through arain-thinned crowd.
“All year I have to dressprofessionally. This is theone time I get to act like afool,” Davis said.
Celebrations werescheduled throughoutLouisiana and in coastalMississippi and Alabama,sharing the traditionsbrought by French colo-nists in the 18th century.
In Louisiana’s bayouparishes, riders on horse-back would go from townto town, making merry inwhat is called the Courirdu Mardi Gras.
The merriment mustcome to a halt at mid-night, when the solemnseason of Lent begins.New Orleans police wereexpected to sweep downBourbon Street at mid-night in the annual ritualof letting revelers knowthe party is over.
The Zulu krewe’s 2014Witch Doctor, Derek Rabb,said he was charged withpraying for the krewe’sgood health and goodweather on Mardi Gras.
“By God’s grace, therewill be sun,” he said.
When out of costume,Rabb works ata New Or-leans firm. A member ofthe organization for thepast eight years, he saidbeing in such a positionhas been an experience hewon’t soon forget.
Revelers yell for beads in the rain during Mardi Gras festivities in the French Quarter in New Orleans,on Tuesday. Rain and cold temperatures kept much of the massive and festive crowds away.
Photo by Gerald Herbert | AP
Mardi Gras revelerscontinue celebrationBy CHEVEL JOHNSON AND
STACEY PLAISANCEASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT BRAGG, N.C. —About a month before aU.S. Army general’s trialon sexual assault charges,the lead prosecutor brokedown in tears, appearingdrunk and suicidal as hetold a superior he didn’tthink the closely watchedcase should go forward, ac-cording to testimony Tues-day.
Lt. Col. William Helixonsaid he was convinced theaccuser had lied about cru-cial evidence, but thoughtthe case against Brig. Gen.Jeffrey A. Sinclair was ofsuch strategic importanceto the military’s crackdownon sexual assaults, he feltpressured to pursue it, ac-cording to testimony fromBrig. Gen. Paul Wilson,who found the prosecutordistraught in a Washingtonhotel room.
Sinclair faces a court-martial on charges that in-clude physically forcing afemale captain under hiscommand to perform oralsex. His attorneys haveasked a judge to dismissthe most serious of thecharges against him, say-ing top brass at the Penta-gon have unlawfully inter-fered with prosecutorial de-cisions in the case, but thejudge refused Tuesday.
Helixon was removedfrom the case last month,and a new prosecutor wasassigned to take it to trial,which is set to begin thisweek.
The case against Sin-clair, believed to be themost senior member of theU.S. military ever to facetrial for sexual assault,comes as the Pentagongrapples with a troublingstring of revelations involv-ing rape and sexual mis-conduct within the ranks.
Helixon wasn’t called totestify, but Wilson took thestand and talked aboutfinding Helixon in the hotelroom Feb. 8. Wilson testi-fied Tuesday that Helixonappeared drunk and suicid-al, and he was taken for amental health evaluation.
“He was in the midst ofa personal crisis. He wascrying. He was illogical,”Wilson said. “I truly be-lieved if he could havestepped in front of a bus atthe time, I think he wouldhave.”
Sinclair, who was thedeputy commander of the82nd Airborne and a risingstar among the U.S. Army’stop battle commanders, isfighting charges that couldland him life in a militaryprison if convicted. He haspleaded not guilty to eightcriminal charges includingforcible sodomy, indecentacts, violating orders andconduct unbecoming an of-ficer and a gentleman.
Lawyers for the marriedfather of two have said hecarried on a three-year ex-tramarital affair with anofficer under his commandduring war tours in Iraqand Afghanistan.
In pretrial hearings,prosecutors painted Sin-clair as a sexual predatorwho abused his position ofauthority to prey on a sub-
ordinate. They also say hethreatened to kill her andher family if she told any-one of their relationship.
But the lead prosecutorbecame convinced the ac-cuser lied to him when shetestified in January aboutevidence collected from hercellphone. The captain tes-tified that on Dec. 9, shortlyafter what she described asa contentious meeting withprosecutors, she redisco-vered an old iPhone storedin a box at her home thatstill contained saved textmessages and voicemailsfrom the general. Aftercharging the phone, shetestified she synced it withher computer to save pho-tos before contacting herattorney.
However, a defense ex-pert’s examination suggest-ed the captain powered upthe device more than twoweeks before the meetingwith prosecutors. She alsotried to make a call andperformed a number of oth-er operations.
Wilson testified that He-lixon was distraught thatthe accuser had lied tohim.
“I served with him incombat in Afghanistan,making targeting decisionswith people’s lives on theline. I have never seen an-other human being in astate like that,” he said oftheir meeting at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington.
Wilson said he took He-lixon to the emergencyroom of a nearby militaryhospital for a mentalhealth evaluation. Thougha psychiatrist who inter-viewed the prosecutor de-clined to admit him fortreatment, Wilson said hetold Helixon’s immediatesuperior back at FortBragg that the prosecutorwas no longer fit to handlethe case.
Case against a generalProsecutor in Army sex case wanted charges dropped
against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. SinclairBy MICHAEL BIESECKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SINCLAIR
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
While Democrats are running mostly unop-posed in their primaries, crowded fields inthe Republican races for attorney general,comptroller and commissioners for agricul-ture and railroads make May runoffs likely.
Davis’ bid for governor headlines a rosterof underdog Democrats girding instead forthe Nov. 4 general election.
That’s the only day that matters to Davisand her Republican opponent, Attorney Gen-eral Greg Abbott, in the year’s marquee show-down. Neither has a competitive primary,leaving Davis poised to become the first fe-male gubernatorial nominee in Texas sinceAnn Richards in 1994.
Abbott was set to become the GOP’s firstnew gubernatorial nominee other than Perryto appear on the ballot since George W. Bushin 1998.
Beverly Hanson — who was among a hand-ful of people who had voted at a Houston ele-mentary school on a cold, rainy day — saidwomen’s issues are a key component of theelection.
“And that means Wendy Davis,” the 68-year-old retired teacher said, later explaining,“She’s not one of the old boys. In Texas, wehave for so many years had the old boys in of-fice.”
Hanson said Davis has an uphill battleagainst Abbott but believes the attorney gen-eral erred by campaigning with shock rockerTed Nugent, who called President BarackObama a “subhuman mongrel,” a commentfor which he later apologized.
“It just an example of Republicans having anarrow perspective of what Texas is,” Hansonsaid, adding, “It will be a fight.”
Unlike Davis and Abbott, few other Texascandidates have the luxury of uneventful pri-maries.
Almost all are on the Republican side,where candidates have wooed voters withvows to emulate Cruz’s no-compromise style.Even U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep.Pete Sessions, two of the state’s most powerfulRepublicans, have spent money campaigningagainst longshot challengers who say the in-cumbents have grown too moderate in Wash-ington.
Changes are far more likely in Austin. Re-publican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who lost toCruz in the U.S. Senate race in 2012, appearsheaded for his first runoff in 11 years for thestate’s No. 2 job, which doubles as the stateSenate president and exerts considerablymore influence than elsewhere in setting thelegislative agenda. The race has been the nas-tiest and most competitive this primary sea-son.
Ralph Kramer, 70, a semi-retired petroleumengineer from The Woodlands who describedhimself as more conservative than most Re-publicans, said he didn’t like the tone of Dew-hurst’s recent campaign against challengerstate Sen. Dan Patrick. Kramer described po-litical ads as “just a way to lie, exaggerate.”
“And I don’t like a dirty campaign,” hesaid.
Illinois holds the nation’s next primaryMarch 18, followed by a flood of state primar-ies in May and June.
ELECTIONContinued from Page 1Athere, but the facts on the
ground indicate that right nowhe is not abiding by that prin-ciple.”
The Obama administrationannounced a $1 billion energysubsidy package in Washing-ton as Kerry was arriving inKiev. The fast-moving develop-ments came as the UnitedStates readied economic sanc-tions amid worries that Mos-cow was ready to stretch itsmilitary reach further into themainland of the former Sovietrepublic.
Kerry headed straight to In-stitutska Street at the start ofan hourslong visit intended tobolster the new governmentthat took over just a week agowhen Ukraine President Vik-tor Yanukovych fled. Kerryplaced a bouquet of red roses,and twice the Roman Catholicsecretary of state made thesign of the cross at a shrineset up to memorialize protes-ters who were killed duringmid-February riots.
“We’re concerned verymuch. We hope for your help,we hope for your assistance,”a woman shouted as Kerrywalked down a misty streetlined with tires, plywood,
barbed wire and other rem-nants of the barricades thatprotesters had stood up to tryto keep Yanukovych’s forcesfrom reaching nearby MaidanSquare, the heart of the dem-onstrations.
Piles of flowers brought inhonor of the dead providedsplashes of color in an other-wise drab day that was stilltinged with the smell ofsmoke.
“We will be helping,” Kerrysaid. “We are helping. Presi-dent Obama is planning moreassistance.”
The Ukraine governmentcontinued to grapple with aRussian military takeover ofCrimea, a strategic, mostlypro-Russian region in thecountry’s southeast, and Ker-ry’s visit came as RussianPresident Vladimir Putin saidhe wouldn’t be deterred by ec-onomic sanctions imposed pu-nitively by the West.
Ukraine Foreign MinisterAndrii Deshchytsia told re-porters that Ukraine was in amuch stronger position todaythan it was even a week ago,having rallied the support ofthe U.S. and the West. He saidit’s unlikely Kiev will ever go
to war to prevent Russia fromannexing Crimea but said do-ing so wouldn’t be necessary,describing the economic penal-ties and diplomatic isolationmore painful to Russians thanbullets would be.
U.S. officials traveling withKerry, speaking on conditionof anonymity, said the Obamaadministration is consideringslapping Russia with unspeci-fied economic sanctions assoon as this week. Members ofCongress say they’re prepar-ing legislation that would im-pose sanctions as well.
As Kerry arrived, the WhiteHouse announced the packageof energy aid, along withtraining for financial and elec-tion institutions and anti- cor-ruption efforts. Additionally,the officials said, the U.S. hassuspended what was describedas a narrow set of discussionswith Russia over a bilateraltrade investment treaty. It is al-so going to provide technicaladvice to the Ukraine govern-ment about its trade rightswith Russia. The officialsspoke on condition of anonym-ity because they were not au-thorized to be quoted by namebefore the official announce-
ment was made.Putin pulled his forces back
from the Ukrainian border onTuesday, yet said that Moscowreserves the right to use allmeans to protect Russians inthe country but hopes itdoesn’t have to. Putin declaredthat Western actions weredriving Ukraine into anarchyand warned that any sanc-tions the West might place onRussia for its actions therewill backfire.
Speaking from his residenceoutside Moscow, Putin said hestill considers Yanukovych tobe Ukraine’s leader and hopesRussia won’t need to use forcein predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
In Washington, the WhiteHouse said the $1 billion loanguarantee was aimed at help-ing insulate Ukraine from re-ductions in energy subsidies.Russia provides a substantialportion of Ukraine’s naturalgas and U.S. officials said theyare prepared to work withKiev to reduce its dependenceon those imports. The assist-ance is also meant to supple-ment a broader aid packagefrom the International Mone-tary Fund.
UKRAINE Continued from Page 1A
Learning the latter’s requi-site skills presents more com-plications because live animalsare required and youngstersmust know how to ride ahorse pretty well before theycan even begin to think aboutroping or steer wrestling. Thegood news is neither ropingnor bull-dogging is as danger-ous as mounting rough stock.
Caleb Smidt, the PRCA’s2013 All-Around Rookie-of-the-Year, is a 24-year-old roper anda steer wrestler with the po-tential to eventually rankamong the best ever. The Bell-ville cowboy readily admits henever “had much of an inter-est” in beating himself up try-ing to survive the requisiteeight seconds on the back of abucking horse or bull. He fig-ured out early on that timed-event cowboys have longer ca-reers and spend less time inemergency rooms.
“But,” he added, “it’s sim-pler to ride rough stock. Youcan go to a rodeo in a car. Youdon’t need a big truck and ahorse trailer.”
Indeed, prospective broncand bull riders often arrive atthe PRCA’s “Rodeo 101” campsin the family station wagon.Each camp accommodates upto 40 youngsters for a singlesix-hour session, and one ofthe first was in Fort Worth inJanuary, the only stop sched-uled for Texas this year. Thenext closest to the Houston ar-ea will be one in Crosset, Ark.,a five-hour drive east of Dallas,scheduled for March 29.
“Our program is designed toprovide kids with the opportu-nity to try out rodeoing in asafety-first environment,” JulieJutten, the PRCA’s outreach co-ordinator, told the HoustonChronicle. “We’ve always beeninvolved in youth rodeo, butwe’ve decided to take a moreproactive role in promoting ro-deo as a sports option.
“Other organizations arerecruiting kids,” she contin-ued. “We should be, too. Butfor us it’s a lot more complicat-ed than just taking your batand your ball to the park likeyou do when you first learn
how to play baseball.”Rodeo 101 beginners are
taught technique throughdrills and mechanical equip-ment by real pro cowboys,some retired, who volunteertheir time.
“They don’t do live buck-outs,” Jutten said, “untilthey’re ready to get serious”and take the next step, whichwould be to sign up for a pri-vate rodeo school. Scholarshipmoney is being made availableto attend college, too.
“Our focus is on teachingthe basics, goal-setting, goodsportsmanship and healthy liv-ing habits,” Jutten said. “Theidea is to get them started theright way instead of going outand jumping on some guy’shorse in the back pasture andgetting badly hurt.”
It’s too early to see measur-able impact of overall partici-pation because 18 is the mini-mum age to earn a PRCA card.
In the interim, numbers arelikely to continue to tricklelower — especially in barebackriding, which, bull-riding’s no-
toriety notwithstanding, is themost potentially debilitatingdiscipline because of the whip-lash effect on the neck. Motehas gone through periods ofsuffering excruciating painfrom a pinched cervical nerve,and now, like most of his peers,he wears a special brace de-signed to help stabilize thehead while the body is beingwildly jerked about.
“Most recently,” Mote said,beginning his list of injuries,“my pancreas got split, and Ihad to have half of it takenout.”
He said it as matter-of-factlyas if he were talking about abroken finger nail.
“That was about a year anda half ago and cost me a couplemonths,” he said. “The horseslipped in the bucking chuteand banged me up against theside. Before that, I had to havesurgery on a sports hernia. Ittook about a year to get backto normal, but I was still try-ing to compete. And I’ve brokemy collarbone, bones in bothlegs, my arm and my wrist.”
COWBOY Continued from Page 1A
