By JULIAN AGUILARLAREDO MORNING TIMES

Nestled away within the serene con-fines of Falcon State Park in StarrCounty is something every plant and

butterfly enthusiast should visit: a butterflygarden home to native species of both giftsof nature.

The garden houses some of the most en-dangered plant life in Texas that, because ofnature’s workings, means it also attractssome of the rarest butterflies found in theregion.

Female butterfliesFran Bartle, the park’s volunteer bird

and butterfly expert, said that because fe-male butterflies stick to one particular plantwhen they lay their eggs, the plant must befound in the region if a butterfly zealothopes to catch a glimpse of the insect. Evenrare butterflies cannot be reared in captiv-ity, she said.

“The only thing you can do is make sureits host plant is available,” Bartle said. “Mostbutterflies are plant-specific — the femalewill lay eggs on only one certain type ofplant. The caterpillar hatching from thoseeggs can only eat that one plant, if it tries toeat anything else it will die. Nature’s justthat way.”

RaritiesSome of the rarities found in the garden

include the Telea Hairstreak, which Bartlesaid had not been confirmed in the countryin more than 60 years when it was sightedin the garden in 2007. The butterfly’s host isthe Chihuahuan Balloonvine, a rare plantnative to South Texas currently on the vergeof extinction.

Through Bartle’s efforts, however, thebutterfly garden now could be responsiblefor the re-emergence of the plant at the statepark.

Another plant, the Capriara, was actual-ly thought extinct until it resurfaced at thepark in the 1990s, and the Damiana, whichusually grows only in areas near the RioGrande, also can be spotted at the butterflygarden.

The Damiana brings with it the chanceto see the Mexican Fritillary butterfly, whichhelps butterfly watchers add another nameto the list of species they can brag about hav-ing seen.

“The fritillary will come over and breedon this plant, (but) there are very few ofthese plants left,” Bartle said.

“Many people keep lists, like many ofthe birders do; they keep lists of the but-

terflies. Well, they want as big of a list asthey can get, so when they come to SouthTexas, if they want the Mexican Fritillary,they’ve got to come to a place that has theDamiana.”

Her treasure chestBartle designed the garden herself and is

available with her treasure chest of plantand butterfly knowledge to any of the park’svisitors, which she said includes peoplefrom all over the country and even somefrom as far away as England and Canada.

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY TO 4,000 HOMES

SAN YGNACIO ANNUAL HISTORIC HOMES TOUR ON SUNDAYPAGE 12A

The Zapata TimesA HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

SATURDAYDECEMBER 6, 2008

FREE

Possible sex biz vexingBy ZACH LINDSEYTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Reports that an adult-orientedbusiness might set up shop in aresidential area of Zapata appearto be just talk for now, but ZapataCounty commissioners are tak-ing no chances.

At their regular meeting Mon-day, Commissioners Court willdiscuss implementing measuresthat would control where suchbusinesses could operate.

Currently, there are no regula-

tions in place about adult-orient-ed businesses, a term that oftenrefers to such enterprises as book-stores that sell sexually explicitmaterial and lounges with toplessdancers, euphemistically referredto as “gentlemen’s clubs.”

Zapata County CommissionerJoe Rathmell plans to present aproposal for controlling thosebusinesses.

“We don’t have a permit struc-ture in place yet, so nobody nec-essarily needs to file anything to

get something open,” Rathmellsaid. “Maybe we can establishsomething so that we can have asay exactly where these kind ofplaces are going to go up.”

Rathmell hopes to be able tokeep the businesses outside townlimits.

He said some local residentshave contacted him with con-cerns about the possibility of anadult-oriented business openingin Zapata.

BP agentchargedin bribes

By JASON BUCHTHE ZAPATA TIMES

A Border Patrol agent sta-tioned in Zapata has been ar-rested on charges that he tookbribes to protect a shipment ofcocaine.

Agent Leonel Morales, 30, isaccused of taking a $9,000 bribeto escort a load of cocaine inJune or August of this year, ac-cording to the U.S. Attorney’sOffice in Houston.

Morales has been with Bor-der Patrol almost two years andhas been stationed in ZapataCounty, where agents’ primaryduties are to patrol the river-

banks and Falcon Lake, saidEugenio Rodriguez Jr., supervi-sory agent in charge of public af-fairs for the Laredo Sector.

A grand jury in Houston in-dicted Morales on charges ofbribery, possession of more than5 kilograms of cocaine with in-tent to distribute and conspiracyto possess cocaine with intentto distribute, according to feder-al prosecutors.

FBI agents arrested Moraleswithout incident Wednesday atFBI offices in Laredo, said NormTownsend, senior supervisoryagent for the FBI in Laredo.

Zapatans get free legal aid

By JASON BUCHTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata residents who can’t af-ford legal help will have the op-portunity to have uncontested civ-il matters resolved at no coststarting next year.

Private attorneys will donatetheir time at Social Justice DayCourt, once every three monthsin the 49th District Court in Za-pata, Judge Joe Lopez and rep-resentatives for Texas Ri-oGrande Legal Aid announcedthis week.

The court in Zapata sees alot of pro se filings, or civil suitsfiled by parties who do not havelegal representation, Lopez said.

The social justice court will

allow people involved in civillawsuits, such as divorces, inwhich both sides are in agree-ment but need legal representa-tion to dispose of their case, toget that representation, Lopezsaid.

There are often problemswhen people prepare their owncourt documents or hire some-one who is not a lawyer to do so,Lopez said.

“What ends up happeninginevitably is we do not get thecases, the cases are dismissedor the orders are unenforce-able,” he said.

Parties can contact Rio-Grande Legal Aid in Laredo to

“Maybe we can establish something so that we can have a say ... ”

COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOE RATHMELL

Center helps the smallest victims

By CHRISTINA ROSALESTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Ten years ago, walking downthe halls of the Laredo PoliceDepartment, there was no spe-cial unit that advocated andworked for the smallest andmeekest victims of abuse. Homi-cide, assault, child abuse androbbery were together in oneunit. All of the cases were treat-ed the same.

It was the way business wasdone — until the Children’s Ad-vocacy Center of Laredo-WebbCounty, which also helps kidsin Zapata County, got involved.

“When the advocacy centeropened, it was a totally differ-ent way of doing investiga-tions,” investigator CordeliaPerez said. “It was so mucheasier than what we were usedto. That’s why CAC is a bless-ing. It really helps us out in ourinvestigations, and I can tellyou that because I worked with

Laredo Morning Times file photo

Sylvia Bruniis executivedirector of the Children’sAdvocacyCenter of Laredo-WebbCounty.

See UNITED WAY | PAGE 11A

See BRIBERY | PAGE 11A

See LEGAL | PAGE 11A

See SEX BIZ | PAGE 11A

Photos by Cuate Santos | The Zapata TimesAABBOOVVEE:: A Black Swallowtail stands on a flower. To its right is a Tropical Ermine Moth. BBEELLOOWW:: A Queen butterfly is seen on a Mule’s Fat flower.

BEAUTY

FLIGHTIN

Butterflies and plantsare in rarefied air

Falcon State Park naturalist Frances Bartle holds a photograph of a rare moth she found and photographed asshe stands in front of the butterfly garden she designed and maintains at the park in this Oct. 17 file photo.

See BUTTERFLIES | PAGE 11A

CCOONNTTAACCTT UUSS

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Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, PO Box 2129,Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956)728-2500

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ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2AZin brief SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

WWHHAATT’’SS GGOOIINNGG OONN

TTOODDAAYY IINN HHIISSTTOORRYY

AARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE WWOORRLLDD | IN BRIEF

AARROOUUNNDD TTEEXXAASS | IN BRIEFAARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE NNAATTIIOONN | IN BRIEFSATURDAY, DEC. 6

The annual San Ygnacio HistoricalHomes Tour event begins at 11:30 a.m. to-day with entertainment at Blas Maria UribePlaza. Tamale plates are $6 each; ticketsfor the tour, which is from 1:30 p.m. – 5:30p.m., also are $6 each.

MONDAY, DEC. 8Zapata County Commissioners meet

at 9 a.m. today for their regular monthlymeeting at the Zapata County Courthouse.

TUESDAY, DEC. 9The American Cancer Society will

have its “Look Good … Feel Better” pro-gram at the American Cancer Society of-fice, 9114 McPherson Road, Suite 2520, inLaredo from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.This programis free and is for cancer patients undergo-ing treatment. Call to reserve a seat. Formore information, call 723-9682.

Three Zapata County IndependentSchool District Board committees meet to-day at the Professional Development Cen-ter, 17th and Carla, starting at 6 p.m. Thefirst is the Curriculum and Instruction, fol-lowed by Facilities and then Policy.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10Texas Department of Transportation

is having a public meeting on the VeleñoBridge realignment at the Community Cen-ter from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, DEC. 11The 2008 Annual Zapata County

Christmas Parade will begin at 6:30 p.m. on17th Avenue, proceeding down to the Zapa-ta County Court House, on Sixth Street andU.S.83.For more information,call 765-6931.

SATURDAY, DEC. 13A trail ride in memory of Raul “Tio”

Flores will be held today at 9 a.m. starting atLaredo International Fair and ExpositionDowns,off U.S.59,then going to the rest areabefore returning to the Downs. Registrationis $20 and includes lunch. For more infor-mation, call George Jimenez at 744-2146.

Norma’s Crystal & Silver Jewelry,1706 Fresno St., will have a grand openingtoday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Door prizeswill be given away.

SUNDAY, DEC. 14The eighth annual San Carlos Mission

Parade & Toy Drive is today. The event willconsist of a Christmas trail ride and 5-mile pa-rade and benefits the children of the San Car-los Mission.Registration will be from 9 a.m.–10 a.m.The event starts at the corner of Texas359 and Loop 20 in Laredo, east from theConoco Pump & Shop, heading toward SanCarlos Mission.Participants will drop toys off— two toys each — at Gregory’s Smart Start,4019 San Dario Ave.; Kelly’s Western Wear,4220 Santa Ursula Ave.; or One by One Cuts,1901 San Bernardo Ave.For more information,call Rosy Gregory Castilleja at 744-7505.

TUESDAY, DEC. 16The Zapata County Independent

School District will have a public hearing onthe AEIS district report and campus reportstarting at 6 p.m. today at the Profession-al Development Center, 17th and Carla, fol-lowed by a meeting of the district’s Boardof Trustees.

THURSDAY, DEC. 18The Juvenile Board meets today

from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on the thirdfloor of the Zapata County Courthouse.

Vidal M. Treviño School of Commu-nications and Fine Arts and The Laredo Bal-let Theatre present “The Nutcracker”at theLaredo Civic Center Auditorium, 2400 SanBernardo Ave. Performances are scheduledfor Dec. 18 at 9 a.m. ($4 group rate for 10or more seats) and Dec. 18 and 19 at 7:30p.m., $7 general admission. For ticket in-formation and reservations, call 795-3325ext. 22 or 796-9923.

Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years

By JEANNINE AVERSAASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Skittish employersslashed 533,000 jobs in November, themost in 34 years, catapulting the unem-ployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramaticproof the country is careening deeperinto recession.

The new figures, released by the LaborDepartment on Friday, showed the crucialemployment market deteriorating at analarmingly rapid clip and handed Americanssome more grim news right before the holi-days. The net loss of more than a half-millionjobs was far worse than analysts expected.

As companies throttled back hiring,the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5percent in October to 6.7 percent lastmonth, a 15-year high.

“These numbers are shocking,” said econ-omist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Eco-nomics Advisors. “Companies are sharply re-

acting to the economy’s problems and slash-ing costs. They are not trying to ride it out.”

The unemployment rate would havemoved even higher if not for the exodus of422,000 people from the work force.Economists said many of those peopleprobably abandoned their job searchesout of sheer frustration. In November2007, the jobless rate was at 4.7 percent.

The U.S. tipped into recession last De-cember, a panel of experts declared earli-er this week, confirming what manyAmericans already thought.

Since the start of the recession, theeconomy has lost 1.9 million jobs, thenumber of unemployed people increasedby 2.7 million and the jobless rate rose by1.7 percentage points. More evidence thelabor pain is far from over came Fridaywhen General Motors Corp. said it will layoff another 2,000 workers as it cuts shiftsat three car factories starting in Februarydue to slowing demand for their products.

O.J. Simpson sentenced toas many as 33 years

LAS VEGAS — A broken O.J.Simpson was sentenced Fridayto as many as 33 years in prisonfor a hotel armed robbery after ajudge rejected his apology andsaid, “It was much more thanstupidity.”

The 61-year-old football Hall ofFamer stood shackled and stone-faced as Judge Jackie Glass rat-tled off the punishment. Momentsbefore, Simpson made a rambling,five-minute plea for leniency, si-multaneously apologizing for theholdup as a foolish mistake andtrying to justify his actions.

He choked back tears as hetold her: “I didn’t want to stealanything from anyone. … I’msorry, sorry.”

Mass. man ticketed in gridlock while wife in labor

BOSTON — A man in Massa-chusetts is appealing a $100ticket he got for driving to a hos-pital in the breakdown lane of agridlocked Boston highwaywhile his wife was in labor.

The Boston Globe reports thata state trooper pulled over JohnDavis and his wife, Jennifer, forusing the breakdown lane Nov.18.

The Dracut man says hiswife’s contractions were threeminutes apart. The couple saythe trooper made them wait fiveto 10 minutes while he wrote aticket for another car on Route 2,asked to see Jennifer’s belly toprove her pregnancy, then issuedthem a ticket.

Amnesia victim ‘H.M.,’whoshed light on brain, dies

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — HenryMolaison lived for decades withprofound amnesia, but in death,he will be remembered for hisgroundbreaking contributions tounderstanding the brain.

Molaison, who was known asHenry M. or H.M. in scientificstudies, died Tuesday at a nurs-ing home at the age of 82, saidSuzanne Corkin, a neuroscien-tist at the Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology who workedclosely with him.

Molaison participated inmore than a half-century of re-search and hundreds of studiesthat shed light on learning andmemory.

—Compiled from AP reports

FBI searching for drug gang leader

EL PASO — The FBI says it’slooking for a leader of a violentprison-based drug gang whose as-sociates were convicted this week.

FBI Special Agent Andrea Sim-mons said Friday that Eduardo“Tablas” Ravelo is wanted on fed-eral racketeering, money launder-ing and drug charges. He’s con-sidered a key leader of the BarrioAzteca gang in Ciudad Juarez, theviolent border city across the RioGrande from El Paso.

Federal authorities have saidBarrio Azteca has ties to the pow-erful Juarez cartel, which is inthe midst of a bloody drug cartelwar in Juarez that has claimedmore than 1,400 lives this year.

Advocacy group wantsto halt admissions

AUSTIN — Advocates for thementally disabled demandedFriday that Texas stop admis-sions to state institutions after afederal report found that patientswere abused and mistreated instate care. The Department ofJustice report released this weekfound at least 53 patients inTexas’ large residential facilitiesdied in 2007 from preventableconditions “that are often the re-

sult of lapses in care.”

Legionnaires’ disease bacteria found at UTMBGALVESTON — Patients at the

University of Texas MedicalBranch at Galveston aren’t be-lieved to be at great risk after thebacteria that causes Legionnaires’disease was discovered in the wa-ter system, officials said Friday.

“We think the risk is phe-nomenally low. But we are beingproactive in patient safety,” saidPamela Falk, director of healthcare epidemiology at UTMB,which is still reopening after be-ing heavily damaged by Hurri-cane Ike.

Gov. Perry requests $300Mfor Ike temporary housing

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. RickPerry has requested $300 mil-lion in federal money to get tem-porary housing for victims ofHurricane Ike.

Perry requested the moneyin a Nov. 26 letter to the FederalEmergency ManagementAgency. When Ike made landfallin September, it destroyed orflooded about 100,000 homesand left half a million peoplehomeless in southeast Texas.

—Compiled from AP reports

Rice: ‘It’s well past time’for Mugabe to leave

COPENHAGEN, Denmark —Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice said Friday it is “well pasttime” for Zimbabwe’s PresidentRobert Mugabe to leave officeas evidenced by the nation’scalamitous cholera epidemicand health care crisis.

Rice said the country experi-enced “a sham election,” fol-lowed by a sham sharing ofpower. Speaking in the Danishcapital on Friday, she said thecurrent outbreak of cholera inthe country should signal to theinternational community that itis time to stand up to Mugabe.

“If this is not evidence to theinternational community tostand up for what is right, I don’tknow what would be. Andfrankly, the nations of the re-gion have to do it,” she said.

Robbers in drag get millions in Paris jewel theft

PARIS — Armed robbers —some disguised as women —snatched $108 million worth ofdiamond rings, necklaces andluxury watches from a HarryWinston boutique on a poshParis avenue in one of thelargest jewel heists in history,officials said Friday.

The gang of three or four rob-bers threatened about 15 em-ployees with handguns and hitsome on the head before takingthe jewels from display casesfrom the store near the Champs-Elysées, said a police official notauthorized to be publicly namedunder agency policy.

At least two of the banditswere men wearing wigs andwomen’s clothes, the officialsaid.

—Compiled from AP reports

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Dec. 6, the341st day of 2008. There are 25days left in the year.

TTooddaayy’’ss HHiigghhlliigghhtt iinn HHiissttoorryy:: On Dec. 6, 1957, America’s

first attempt at putting a satelliteinto orbit failed as Vanguard TV3rose only about four feet off aCape Canaveral, Fla., launch padbefore crashing back down andexploding.

OOnn tthhiiss ddaattee:: In 1790, Congress moved to

Philadelphia from New York. In 1889, Jefferson Davis, the

first and only president of theConfederate States of America,died in New Orleans.

In 1907, the worst mining dis-aster in U.S. history occurred as362 men and boys died in a coalmine explosion in Monongah,W.Va.,

In 1922, the Irish Free Statecame into being under terms ofthe Anglo-Irish Treaty.

In 1947, Everglades NationalPark in Florida was dedicated byPresident Harry S. Truman.

In 1973, House minorityleader Gerald R. Ford was swornin as vice president, succeedingSpiro T. Agnew.

In 1982, 11 soldiers and sixcivilians were killed when anIrish National Liberation Armybomb exploded at a pub in Bal-lykelly, Northern Ireland.

In 1989, 14 women were shotto death at the University ofMontreal’s school of engineer-ing by a man who then took hisown life.

TTeenn yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: In Venezuela,former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez,who’d staged a bloody coup at-tempt against the governmentsix years earlier, was electedpresident. Endeavour’s astro-nauts connected the first twobuilding blocks of the interna-tional space station in the shut-tle cargo bay.

FFiivvee yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: A U.S. war-plane in pursuit of a “known ter-rorist” attacked a village in east-ern Afghanistan, mistakenlykilling nine children. DefenseSecretary Donald H. Rumsfeldmet with senior American com-manders in Iraq and was assuredthat a recent switch to more ag-gressive anti-insurgency tacticshad begun to pay off.

OOnnee yyeeaarr aaggoo:: CIA DirectorMichael Hayden revealed theagency had videotaped its inter-rogations of two terror suspects

in 2002 and destroyed the tapesthree years later out of fear theywould leak to the public andcompromise the identities of U.S.questioners.

TTooddaayy’’ss BBiirrtthhddaayyss: Jazz mu-sician Dave Brubeck is 88. Com-edy performer David Ossman is72. Country singer Helen Cor-nelius is 67. Actor JamesNaughton is 63. Rhythm-and-blues singer Frankie Beverly(Maze) is 62. Former Sen. DonNickles, R-Okla., is 60. ActressJoBeth Williams is 60. ActorTom Hulce is 55. Actor KinShriner is 55. Talk show hostWil Shriner is 55. Rock musi-cian Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 52.Rock musician David Lovering(Pixies) is 47. Actress JanineTurner is 46. Rock musician BenWatt (Everything But The Girl)is 46. Writer-director Judd Apa-tow is 41. Rock musician Ulf“Buddha” Ekberg (Ace of Base)is 38. Writer-director CraigBrewer is 37. Actress ColleenHaskell is 32. Actress LindsayPrice is 32.

TThhoouugghhtt ffoorr TTooddaayy:: “Do notwait to strike till the iron is hot;but make it hot by striking.” —William Butler Yeats, Irish NobelPrize-winning poet (1865-1939).

JEFFERSON PEACE MEDAL

Photo by Mustafa Quraishi | APPolice commandos keep a vigil at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Del-hi, India, on Friday.A police official says security forces have swarmed through NewDelhi’s international airport after the sound of gunfire rang out, but no one wasinjured. India’s top law enforcement official admitted Friday there were govern-ment “lapses” in last week’s terror attack on Mumbai, amid a public uproar oversecurity and intelligence failures in the deadly siege.

Photo by American Museum of Natural History | APThis undated image provided by the American Museum of Natural History showsan 1801 silver Jefferson Peace Medal.Though the medal’s provenance isn’t ironclad,Allen Pinkham, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, and some historians believe it mayhave been given by explorers Lewis and Clark to Pinkham’s great-great-great-great uncle, a Nez Perce leader named Cut Nose, on May 6, 1806, as they trekkedthrough present-day Idaho. Pinkham would like the medal returned to his tribe.

Photo by Paul Sakuma | APBennie Rambin, who had his work hours cut way down in November, looks for a new job at JobTrain, a job training facility in Men-lo Park, Calif., on Friday. Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unem-ployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.

The Zapata Times

AGGRAVATED ASSAULTA female juvenile was arrested Nov.

28 on a charge of aggravated assault with adeadly weapon.

According to the offense report, the girlattempted to run over two other female ju-veniles with a vehicle at about 1 p.m. nearthe intersection of 10th Street and MedinaAvenue.

A man from the 800 block of LaredoAvenue told police at about 2 p.m. Nov. 28that a person hit him with a branch andthen threatened to go home, grab a gunand kill him.

The man identified the alleged offender,who’s possibly wanted for aggravated as-sault with a deadly weapon and terroristicthreats.

According to the offense report, thecase is open and active.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a manSunday on the charge of aggravated assaultcausing serious bodily injury.

Jorge Luis Prezaz Jr. was later bookedand processed at the regional jail.

According to the offense report, Prezazassaulted the victim with an unknown objectat about 3 a.m. near the intersection of Mi-raflores and Seventh streets.

The report stated that the victim sus-

tained a laceration on the left side of hishead as a result of the assault.

ASSAULTAuthorities responded to a residence

Nov. 27 in the 1900 block of Elm Street aftera woman reported a disturbance involving adrunken man with a gun.

Upon arrival at the residence at about10:10 p.m., sheriff’s deputies arrested An-dres Fraire Jr., 39, on the charge of assaultcausing bodily injury (family violence), aClass-A misdemeanor.

He was later booked and processed atthe regional jail.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a womanNov. 26 in the 1500 block of Villa Avenue af-ter she got into a fight with her sister, au-thorities said.

Diana I. Cuellar, 17, was booked andcharged with assault causing bodily injury(family violence), a Class-A misdemeanor.She was later taken to county jail.

According to the offense report,deputies responded to the Villa Avenue res-idence at about 12:30 p.m. after a womanwho lives at the home called 911 reporting adomestic disturbance.

A man was arrested at about 2 a.m.Nov. 29 after deputies responded to a do-

mestic disturbance at a residence in the5400 block of Sean Lane.

Upon arrival, deputies arrested ArturoDia Rodriguez on the charge of assault (fam-ily violence), a Class-A misdemeanor.

He was later booked and processed atthe regional jail.

POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

Authorities arrested a man Nov. 29near the intersection of Ninth Avenue andFresno Street on the charge of possession ofcocaine.

Leonel Manuel Martinez was bookedand processed at about 1 a.m. at the re-gional jail.

PUBLIC INTOXICATIONA man was charged with public in-

toxication at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday nearPark Drive and U.S. 83.

Roberto Banda was taken to county jailfor his safety and the safety of others, the of-fense report stated.

AUTO THEFTA vehicle was reported stolen Sunday

from the 1500 block of First Street.The female complainant told authorities

about the theft at approximately 9:20 a.m.

BURGLARY OF A VEHICLEA vehicle was reported burglarized

Wednesday in the 1300 block of Diaz Av-enue.

According to the offense report, the

male complainant told deputies that sever-al documents were stolen from the vehicle.

The case is open and active, the reportstated.

A vehicle was reported burglarizedNov. 27 in the 1800 block of First Street.

The female complainant, who calledpolice at about 7:15 a.m., told them aCanon DVD camcorder was stolen fromthe vehicle.

According to the offense report, thecase is open and active.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to aburglarized vehicle report Nov. 27 in the2200 block of Hidalgo Boulevard.

The male complainant told deputiesabout the theft at approximately 3:30 p.m.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 3AZlocal SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

THE BLOTTER

Photo by Eugene George/Webb County Heritage Foundation | The Zapata TimesThis photo taken Aug. 18, 1983, shows goats wandering through the remains of theChurch of Nuestra Señora del Refugio in Guerrero Viejo on the Mexican side of the RioGrande. The ruins of the old city, which was inundated when Falcon Lake was createdin 1953, occasionally are visible when the lake level drops. In times of severe drought,visitors can actually walk through some of the old buildings.

Guerrero Viejo focus of 2 eventsSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Just in time for the holidays, the WebbCounty Heritage Foundation and the Villa SanAgustin de Laredo Genealogical Society areteaming up to present two evenings of histori-cal and cultural reminiscence on Old Guerrero.

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, the public is invit-ed to attend a talk on the “History of GuerreroViejo” by Carlos Rugerio Cazares, director ofthe Archivo General del Estado de Tamaulipas,Mexico. This talk will be followed by an updateon the work being done to preserve the his-torical archives of Guerero Viejo by local his-torian, Carlos Cuellar of Texas A&M Interna-tional University.

The Wednesday presentations will takeplace at 6:30 p.m. at Casa Ortiz, 915 Zaragoza St.

The next evening, Thursday, Dec. 11, willfeature a book-signing and reception for theexhibit “Guerrero Viejo Revealed,” showcas-ing photography by Everardo Castro Medellinand W. Eugene George, to be held at the VillaAntigua Border Heritage Museum, 810Zaragoza St.

The Thursday event begins at 6 p.m. Everardo Castro Medellin, an avid photog-

rapher, is a geophysicist with Petróleos Mexi-canos. His favorite subject is architecture, bothnatural and man-made. Castro’s photographshave been shown in Austin, Nueva Ciudad

Guerrero and Reynosa. Eugene George is a Fellow of the American

Institute of Architects renowned for his studies ofTexas-Mexican border historic architecture andpreservation. His book, “The Lost Architecture ofthe Rio Grande Borderlands: The Tragedy of theFalcón Reservoir,” from Texas A&M UniversityPress, will be featured at the book-signing.

“We’re delighted to collaborate with theVilla San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical So-ciety to present these two evenings of such his-torical significance for so many residents ofSouth Texas whose ancestors bear a connec-tion to Guerrero Viejo,” said Margarita Araiza,executive director of the Webb County Her-itage Foundation.

“In addition, the book-signing will afford an

opportunity to meet the photographers andpurchase a very unique holiday gift.”

Guerrero Viejo, formerly known as Revilla,was one of the five northernmost settlementsestablished by José de Escandón in Nuevo San-tander, one of the last northern provinces of NewSpain during the 18th century. Revilla, foundedin 1750, was renamed Ciudad Guerrero in 1827in honor of Vicente Guerrero, a hero of Mexicanindependence. In 1953, Guerrero Viejo was flood-ed by completion of the International FalconReservoir. When the reservoir waters recede, asthey do periodically, the beautiful stone structuresof Guerrero Viejo reveal themselves again.

For more information, contact the WebbCounty Heritage Foundation at (956) 727-0977or heritage@webbheritage.org.

“We’re delighted to collaborate with the Villa San Agustinde Laredo Genealogical Society to present these twoevenings of such historical significance for so many

residents of South Texas whose ancestors bear a connection to Guerrero Viejo.”

WEBB COUNTY HERITAGE FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARGARITA ARAIZA

Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.“Let your smile be

a sign of happiness& good health”

1520 Corpus Christi StreetTelephone (956) 726-0160

NEW YORK TIMES

The inauguration of BarackObama already feels re-freshing for at least two

new twists. The first is the president-

elect’s order to ratchet back se-verely on the special-interestmoney that traditionally floatsWashington’s panoply of victorycelebrations.

Planners have barred lobby-ists, corporations, political actioncommittees and well-heeled for-eigners from making their usualdown payments on access to thenew administration.

The other encouragement isthe stroke of generosity by whicha Virginia businessman is spend-ing more than $1 million to rentprime hotel rooms and promis-ing that assorted down-and-outcitizens — from the poor to theterminally ill to wounded soldiers— will have a perch of privilege onPennsylvania Avenue for the pa-rade.

The Capraesque gesture —dubbed “The People’s Inaugura-tion” replete with two gala balls —is the gift of Earl Stafford, a 60-year-old Air Force retiree who

made a fortune founding a mili-tary technology company.

Stafford is picking up the tabfor three nights with meals at thehotel for scores of the normallyuninvited and overlooked. He’seven promising gown, tuxedo andhair-dresser costs for those mostin need.

“We just need to get back tocaring about one another,”Stafford told The WashingtonPost, paraphrasing the Bible: “Towhom much is given, much is re-quired.”

Stafford is one-upping Obamainaugural vows to “open this up tothe public.” It’s heartening to con-template a few of Washington’ssteam-grate hoboes partyingspiffy as expense-account insid-ers.

For the official partying, Oba-ma set an individual’s maximumcontribution at $50,000, a fifth ofthe last Bush inaugural.

It remains to be seen howmuch Obama’s campaign army ofInternet donors might subsidizefestivities that most are not likelyto be attending.

But the urge for change — atleast in the ways Washington par-ties on — is taking shape.

OTHER VIEWS

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

This inaugurationis for the people

EDITORIAL

COLUMN

Civilized world lets terrorists win

By JAY BOOKMAN COX NEWS SERVICE

ATLANTA - Every time ter-rorists strike, the civilizedworld vows not to let them

win. Yet time after time, we givethem exactly the victory theyseek.

In the Middle East, Palestin-ian terrorists have attacked re-peatedly in hopes of disruptingpeace efforts; time after time,they’ve gotten their way.

In the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001,Osama bin Laden made it clearthat he was trying to provoke theUnited States into an overreac-tion; by invading Iraq, an oil-richIslamic country that had nothingto do with 9/11, we gave him justwhat he wanted. Iraq became agreat recruiting tool and rallyingpoint for al-Qaida.

Deny victorySo it’s pretty simple: If you

want to deny victory to terrorists,you figure out what they’re tryingto get you to do. Then you don’t doit.

But given the emotional im-pact of terrorism, that can be ex-traordinarily hard, as the peopleof India know.

The goal of the terrorists whoattacked Mumbai last week wasnot to kill hundreds of victims.“Victims are just the language ofwar,” as Khalid Sheikh Muham-mad, the mastermind of Sept. 11,told his captors.

Muhammad and other terror-ists are engaged in “asymetricwarfare,” in which a much weak-er party faces a much strongeropponent.

Unable to win a head-onstruggle, the weaker party triesto provoke its opponent into re-acting in anger or fear, an overre-action that weakens it in the eyesof the world, reduces its legitima-cy and makes it vulnerable.

To the Mumbai terrorists,those many dead innocents werea means of achieving their goal,which was to undermine relationsbetween Pakistan and India andprovoke the two nuclear-armednations to war. The world is nowtrying ensure that rising anger inIndia — anger that is natural andjustified — doesn’t give the mur-derers what they sought.

Ironically, one of the best les-sons about how to respond to ter-rorism can be drawn from a seem-ingly unlikely source, the careerof Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In his own, very different formof asymetric warfare, he too triedto provoke his more powerful op-ponents into an overreaction thatwould weaken them, with thevery important moral differencethat King chose to provokethrough nonviolence.

And as King discovered, some

foes are too smart to play along. In 1962, King was drawn into

the struggle to desegregate thetown of Albany, Ga.

He led protests and marches,trying to provoke local officialsinto an overreaction that wouldreverse the power dynamic. Butthe Albany sheriff, Laurie Pritch-ett, had studied King’s tactics andrefused to give King what hesought. As Pritchett later ex-plained, he met nonviolence withnonviolence.

King would organize massdemonstrations; Pritchett’sdeputies would arrest the demon-strators, but they would do socalmly and professionally. Kingand his lieutenants would getthemselves arrested, hoping to be-come high-profile martyrs; Pritch-ett would secretly arrange to letthem go.

“I’ve been thrown out of a lot ofplaces in my day, but never be-fore have I been thrown out ofjail,” King’s assistant, the Rev.Ralph David Abernathy Jr., com-plained after his release.

Through patience, Pritchett de-nied King the images of brutal re-pression that could be broadcastworldwide by the media, imagesthat would build sympathy for theunderdog. Frustrated, King leftAlbany with segregation still inplace.

But a year later in Birming-ham, King met a more coopera-tive foe in Police CommissionerBull Connor. When demonstra-tors marched, Connor respondedjust as King hoped, with firehosesand nightsticks and police dogssicced upon children.

The images out of Birming-ham of the strong attacking theweak horrified the nation andforced federal intervention. With-in days, legal segregation in Birm-ingham was ended forever. Theweak had beaten the strong.

“We were witnessing police vi-olence and brutality Birmingham-style,” as John Lewis put it. “Un-fortunately for Bull Connor, sowas the rest of the world.”

Death to terroristsMilitary force is a legitimate

and necessary tool to defend our-selves and loved ones. When wecan find terrorists, we should killthem, and where possible weshould deny them sanctuary.

But it is important to remem-ber that the civilized world is farstronger than they are. Whateverpower they have is power that wegive them through the anger andfear we allow them to provoke.

It’s hard to cite a segregation-ist sheriff as a role model, butLaurie Pritchett had it figured out.

(To reach Jay Bookman,deputy editorial page editor of theAtlanta Journal-Constitution, e-mail jbookman@ajc.com)

COLUMN

By ROBERT KELLY-GOSS COX NEWS SERVICE

Half awake in my bed Iheard the thumping offooty-padded footsteps

running down the stairs. Thewhispers were barely audible,just enough to make me open myeyes slightly, suspecting some-thing was afoot; little people wereon the prowl.

“Do you see it,” one of themwhispered to the other two.

“Yeah. It looks like snow,” sheanswered her brother in ahushed voice.

Shuffle, thump, bump; threelittle bodies, all dressed in footedpajamas, ran to my bedroomwindow.

“Snow!” And three of them, the little

ones as I call them, were nowlooking out onto the front lawn aslarge, wet snowflakes crowdedthe sky, drifting rapidly to theground, collecting on the grassand whetting their appetite forwinter.

I opened my eyes wider andcouldn’t believe what I was see-

ing. I’d heard that the weatherexperts were predicting flurriesfor the evening, but this was adownright snowfall. And al-though I knew, seeing as we liveamidst swamps, marsh andbrackish sounds at sea level, itwould only last a short while,snow falling on blue days thatbring more news of difficulttimes seems to white wash it allaway.

The little ones are older nowand breakfast must come beforerushing outdoors. That’s their de-cision and so after bowls of cere-al — something quick, of course —clothes were donned, socks re-placed gloves that couldn’t befound and we were out the door.

Even their older sister, who

would rather sleep than be both-ered early in the morning, foundenough joy in the large flakesdrifting to the ground, to throw ajacket over her pajamas. So withthe dogs on leashes, it was timefor a morning walk.

Around the neighborhoodsigns of children were every-where. While my oldest and Itethered dogs, the little onesscrambled about every patch ofsnow, building a stash of frozengold in their arms.

Down the block, round thecorner, we strolled, meandered,laughed and shrieked with de-light. Even the drivers of passingcars grinned broadly at the sightof children rustling through thesnow.

And when the sky is full oflarge white flecks drifting gin-gerly to the ground, thoughts ofanything, everything, seem todrift away. There can be only onemoment that matters and that iseach moment captured as thoseflakes fall and a child’s tonguecatches it, proclaiming that sure-ly that one was bigger and tastierthan the last one.

But all great moments mustcome to an end. Soon the snow-fall abated and children took tothe inside of the house, seekingrefuge from what had turned tomud.

My youngest daughter, for amoment or two, mourned theshort-lived glory of an unexpect-ed snowfall. Her blues got the bet-ter of the white stuff that hadfilled her heart with glee onlyminutes before.

For me it was a surprising re-treat from the work-a-day sched-ule, a chance to break out and bechildlike too. It was a break fromthe day that lay waiting for me;the hours spent thinking aboutthe world and its weighty con-cerns.

But even as I sat restless inmy chair throughout the day,working on this, that and the oth-er, I could see large flakes in mymind, and smiles so bright andhear the giggles and shrieks ofjoy of snow falling on blue days.

(Reach Robert Kelly-Goss,who writes for The Daily Ad-vance in Elizabeth City, N.C., atrkelly-goss@coxnc.com)

The fine joys of unexpected snowfall

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 4AZopinion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

Area deer hunters have opportunity to help feed the hungry this seasonYOUR OPINION

TToo tthhee eeddiittoorr::I want to wish my fellow

hunters a safe and successfuldeer hunting season. Game ap-pears to be plentiful due to anabove average rainfall allaround the area.

I would also ask all huntersto join in a state-wide wildgame donation program calledHunters for the Hungry. Thisprogram has been around forseveral years and in light of oureconomic situation is neededmore than ever. This programseeks to alleviate hunger and

malnutrition in Texas, provide ameaningful outlet for hunterswishing to help their communi-ties, and promote stewardshipof the environment throughsensible wild life managementplans.

The only meat processor inLaredo cooperating with thishumanitarian program is RuizCustom Meats at 2119 LyonStreet here in Laredo. Theirnumber is 724-3013 and myfriend Robert Ruiz tells me thatthey charge a nominal fee of$50 to cover basic processing

costs. They grind the venisoninto burger, package it and storeit for local food assistanceproviders to pick up. Thehunter is asked to bring histagged legally harvested deer tothis location and is provided areceipt.

All meat donated to this fineprogram is distributed to fami-lies and individuals in needthrough local food assistanceproviders such as food banks,food pantries, etc. to help thethousands of local needy indi-viduals in the barrios and colo-

nias of Webb County. This is a wonderful opportu-

nity for local land owners andhunters to manage their deerpopulation and help the less for-tunate and hungry in andaround Webb County in themiddle of our severe economicsituation.

The local deer season runsthrough late January and willgo a long way in preventinghunger and malnutrition forthose in need.

SSiiggnneedd,,David Almaraz

ROBERT KELLY-GOSS

SENDING LETTERS TO THE EDITORVIA E-MAIL

editorial@lmtonline.comVIA REGULAR MAIL

Letters to the Editor; 111 Esperanza Drive; Laredo, Texas 78045OFFICE DROP-OFF

Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

BASIC RULESMust be signed with first and last name; no pseudonyms; name of letter writer must beverified before publication; phone number must be included for verification or clarifi-cation, but the number will not be published; letters must be no longer than 600words; no more than 10 names in thank-you letters; no name-calling; letters are editedfor style, grammar, length and civility.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 5AZlife SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

MISS MANNERS | BY JUDITH MARTIN

DEAR MISS MANNERS — Ihave just started law school,where professionalism is part ofthe education. At this point, Iwould be grateful just for respect

and commoncourtesy.

The troublearises in oneclass wherethere are no as-signed seats.One of myclassmatessaves a seat forher friend. The

first time, I acquiesced. The sec-ond time, I put my hands on thechair before sitting down and saidI was going to sit there, where-upon she snatched it away, sayingI wasn’t. The third time, when Iannounced my intention to sitnext to her she piled all of herpossessions onto it. I am at a lossas to how to respond to such im-mature behavior.

As an aside, the first two timesher friend could have just as eas-ily sat on her other side. Thefriend suggested that we consultour professor, but he declined tobecome involved other than as alast resort.

GENTLE READER — Whatare you two doing in law school?Your idea of conflict resolution istug o’ war and run tattling toTeacher. Please remind Miss Man-ners never to hire either of you torepresent her.

In the interest of relieving yourunderstandably exasperated pro-fessor, she will explain brieflyhow civilized societies are regu-lated.

Rules, customs and laws aredesigned to make them runsmoothly and, with any luck, just-ly and even gracefully. Etiquette

governs the minor rules and cus-toms, just as law governs the laws.However, in contrast to law, whichhas the power to fine or confineviolators, etiquette requires vol-untary compliance, and violatingit incurs only disapproval and ex-clusion.

So why should anyone com-ply?

You and the other studentmight have done so to avoid disap-proval: enmity toward each other,the possible annoyance of otherstudents who heard you quarrel-ing, and the likely irritation of yourprofessor as he declined to becomeinvolved. For the sake of the pro-fession you have both chosen, youshould also adhere to the beliefthat trivial matters should be set-tled without recourse to the awfulmajesty of the law.

Instead, you both chose to pur-sue a questionable dispute over achair, and to do so rudely. Savinga seat is usually countenanced,provided one does not try to savea large number of them, or to al-low late arrivals who disruptthings. In any case, trying to do sois not an act of war.

The conflict could have beenhandled politely, with your asking,“Do you mind if I sit here?” and hersaying, “I’m sorry, I promised tosave this for my friend” — and re-solved in your favor by your arriv-ing early for the next class and tak-ing whatever seat you chose.

DEAR MISS MANNERS — Myfriend and I were discussing whata proper lady would carry in herpurse. Since we cannot come to anagreement, could you help us?

GENTLE READER — A cleanhandkerchief and enough moneyto get home if she needs to use thehandkerchief because she hasbeen taken ill or made to cry.

MARTIN

Students need lesson in civility

By KIRSTEN CROWLAREDO MORNING TIMES

With 18 days and count-ing till Christmas, andan uncertain future in

the economy, consumers are look-ing for more than just the averagegift this holiday season.

While past years may have seensplurge spending that is scarce thistime around, it doesn’t mean shop-pers aren’t on the hunt for that per-fect gift for that special someone.Rather, many are keeping an eyeout for the gift that truly fits its re-cipient at a price that’s right.

From the classic and theunique to the high-end, do-it-your-self and altruistic, here are a fewideas for what might be found be-neath the tree come Dec. 25.

For the fashion-forward, acces-sories, curios and novelty items— as long as they’re stylish — are

always welcome. To get a taste of what’s what in

haute couture, Joe Brand and Pol-ly Adams are good places to start:From clothing to jewelry to knick-knacks and the luxurious, there’sa wide selection of gift ideas.

Some of the most sought-afterthis year include Tory Burchhandbags and wallets, available atJoe Brand for $195 to $275.

And while Tory Burch has itsfollowers, for others, nothing ishotter than Ed Hardy, and JoeBrand’s also the spot where thefashionista wine enthusiasts canindulge in some vino while sip-ping it from a collectible EdHardy-designed bottle.

For something a little more off-beat, Polly Adams also has greatstocking stuffers. Bracelets ($16)and necklaces ($33-$51) made by

Photos by Laredo Morning TimesPictured, top to bottom: A Noa men’s watch, available at Joe Brand, $1,695; a costumejeweled cuff bracelet, available at Casa Guero, $22; the WowWee Fly Tech RC Drag-onfly, $39.99 (photo provided by Radio Shack); the Mio Moov 500 Portable GPSReceiver, $249.99 (photo provided by Radio Shack); a Tory Burch wallet, avail-able at Joe Brand, $195; and a vintage Sheila Falj Zodiac necklace, available atPolly Adams, $33-$51.

Finding the perfect present for every person on your list

See GIFT WRAP | PAGE 6A

6A | THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

Sheila Fajl depicting Zodiac signsare particularly popular this year,said Lolita Mounetou, buyer forthe boutique.

“They’re all vintage coins,” shesaid. “And it’s all about the Zodi-ac and the signs right now.”

Of course, there’s alwayskitsch costume jewelry chic. Ifthat fashionable so-and-so is moreinterested in some of the funkierstyles, Casa Guero has a large se-lection of affordable costume jew-elry, from chunky bracelets to daz-zling, sparkling cuffs at veryaffordable prices, ranging from $4to $22.

There are also some snazzybags that have the flair and feel ofan Ed Hardy look at just a fractionof the price: $23.50 to $35.

The classicThey say that diamonds are a

girl’s best friend, but many finejewelers will tell you what it real-ly is: classic. Tad Deutsch, ofDeutsch & Deutsch, said thestore’s selection of fine watches,jewelry and handbags offer some-thing many consider priceless —items that never go out of fashion.

“You’ll have something that

will last forever,” he said. “(Theseitems) are something that hasheld its value, even through thesehard times.”

The gadgetsAs has been the trend the last

10 years, giving the gift of tech-nology can serve both as a practi-cal item, as well as the equivalentof a “big kid” toy.

At Radio Shack, some of themore useful offerings this year in-clude digital converter boxes —which will be necessary for allanalog television sets to receivechannels starting in February —priced at $59.99, or $19.99 withtax, if a government coupon ispresented. Another good choiceis a GPS navigation system, whichis great for the directionally defi-cient and drivers who wouldrather remain lost than ask for di-rections. Prices vary, dependingon the features.

On the less practical but farmore fun side of the spectrum,Radio Shack also has a hot toythis year, which, while advertisedas “entertaining for kids ages 8and up,” also has kid-at-heart ap-peal: the WowWee Fly Tech RC

Dragonfly, priced at $39.99. Thislightweight, remote-controlledbuzzer can “flutter, soar, dive-bomb and glide,” according to thecorporate Web site.

The altruisticFor someone that really does

have everything, the South TexasFood Bank offers an “adopt a fam-ily” program and is encouraging itto be given as a gift, said SaloOtero, director of development ofthe food bank.

Created by the organization’sexecutive director, Alfredo Castil-lo, the program offers the com-munity-minded a chance to adopta needy family for a $120 dona-tion, which provides them withone box full of groceries permonth for one year. There are cur-rently 680 families participatingin the program, but nearly 700 re-main on the waiting list, Oterosaid.

“To us, it’s a gift that keeps ongiving,” he said. “A lot of peopleduring the holidays say they wantto give people food for Thanks-giving or Christmas, and we havethose, for $10 (per box). But wesuggest to people, ‘You know, what

about a gift that’s every month?’”

The do-it-yourselfDomestic guru Heloise, a na-

tionally syndicated columnistpublished daily in Laredo Morn-ing Times, said it doesn’t take bigbucks to provide a real present.

Among her suggestions, theSan Antonio-based writer said ahandmade gift card — redeemablefor time-oriented items such aswashing the car once a month,babysitting or just making a“date” with a relative — are alwayspopular and well-received.

Also popular are “memoryboxes,” where the giver fills a jaror box with memorabilia or hand-written remembrances on scrapsof paper about the receiver.

“Even if it is a heart hint ormemory hint, that will last farlonger than a new sweater or bot-tle of cologne,” Heloise said. “Agift from the heart or hand,frankly, will mean more thansomething from the store — butkeep in mind what the receiverwants or needs.”

(Kirsten Crow may be reachedat 728-2543 or by e-mail atkirsten@lmtonline.com)

GIFT WRAP | Continued from Page 5

This gold-sheen skull tote has the feel of an Ed Hardy design at a fraction of the price. It is available for $23.50 at Casa Guero.Photos by Laredo Morning Times

This patterned canvas Tory Burch tote is $275 at Joe Brand.

These brown lizard skin men’s Lucchese boots are available at Joe Brand for $455.

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

NavidadFest“Here comes Santa Claus,

here comes Santa Claus, ridingdown Santa Claus Lane.”

Actually, it will be SanBernardo Avenue, but after join-ing his helpers in the parade thatkicks off NavidadFest today, thejolly old guy in the red suit willjoin Mayor Raul G. Salinas to of-ficially “flip the switch” at thisyear’s tree lighting ceremony inSan Agustin Plaza.

The revelry will begin at 4 p.m.with a parade and performancesfor the community. The parade,featuring Laredo IndependentSchool District and United ISDdance and cheer groups, count-less floats, mounted patrols, mo-torcycles, cars and, of course, thatfamous Z-93/Guerra Communi-cation Sleigh carrying Santa Clausand Salinas, will wind down SanBernardo Avenue, starting at theLaredo Chamber of Commerce,and end at the Mercadito Plazaon Hidalgo Street.

The official tree-lighting willbe at 6:30 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the “Pastorela,” a tra-ditional Mexican holiday play thatkicks off the re-enactment of Maryand Joseph’s journey to find lodg-ing for the night, will be shown. Aposada following the theatricalperformance will lead back to theMercadito Plaza to the LaredoCenter for the Arts, where per-formances by Vidal M. TreviñoSchool of Fine Arts and Commu-nications students, including asample of “The Nutcracker” ballet,will be offered inside their facility.LCA will also feature an art displayby students from the United DaySchool art department, as well asan ongoing silent auction of morethan 50 beautifully decoratedpiñatas created by students fromtheir art camps, as well as studentsfrom the Bethany House.

Entrance to NavidadFest is free.

‘Holiday Music Magic’Before the holiday rush wears

you out, treat the family to thenew show “Holiday Music Magic”

at the TAMIU Lamar Bruni Ver-gara Planetarium. The show,keyed to holiday music, opens to-day in an evening full of fun thatincludes a visit from Santa Clausand a performance by the UnitedSouth Middle School Choir. Theprogram will be shown at 6 and 8p.m.

The United South MiddleSchool Choir is scheduled to per-form at 5:30 p.m., and from 6 to 8p.m., visitors will have the op-portunity to take their picturewith Saint Nick for $2.

Also showing at the planetar-ium is “Season of Light,” whichwill be presented at 5 and 7 p.m.

“ ‘Season of Light’ is a showthat visitors can enjoy not justonce, but every year. I’ve seenthis show countless times, and Iam still moved by its message,”Pérez said.

General admission tickets are$5, and $4 for children andTAMIU students, faculty, staff

and alumni. Season tickets arealso available starting at $35.

‘Messiah and More’Enjoy the sounds of the sea-

son at “Messiah and More” onSunday at 3 p.m. in the LaredoCommunity College Guadalupeand Lilia Martinez Fine ArtsCenter.

Admission is free and open tothe public.

The concert is offered by theLaredo Philharmonic Choraleand the Laredo PhilharmonicOrchestra.

The program for “Messiahand More” includes G.F. Handel’s“Messiah” (Christmas portiononly); “Sleigh Ride,” by Leroy An-derson; “Many Moods of Christ-mas,” arranged by Robert Shaw;“Angels Carol,” by John Rutter;“Hodie Christus natus est” (“To-day Christ is born”), by GiovanniGabrieli; and “Jamaican Carol.”

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 7AZentertainment SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

Courtesy photoT.I., one of today’s best-known and well-regarded hip-hop performers, is scheduled for a concert at the Laredo Entertainment Cen-ter on Jan. 4.

T.I. to ‘Bring ’Em Out’SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Laredo Entertainment Center, Global GrooveLondon and Border Media’s Hot 106.1 announcedWednesday the anticipated arrival of the biggesthip-hop artist today: T.I., who is scheduled to performSunday, Jan. 4, 2009, at 7 p.m. to an expected crowdof more than 7,000 screaming fans.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at the LEC box officeand all Ticketmaster outlets. Ticket prices are $75,$55 and $35, with a special holiday buy-one, get-one-free offer available for one day only. All tickets, exceptthe first five rows, will be available in this buy-one,get-one-free special Saturday at the LEC box officestarting at 10 a.m.

Also, anyone who brings a new toy for the Toys forTots program will be eligible to register to win a“meet and greet” for two with T.I. All donations willbenefit Laredo children.

According to his official Web site, T.I. — born Clif-ford Harris Jr. — is a father, astute businessman,fashion icon, “King of the South,” future Hollywood

A-Lister and hip-hop standard bearer. The Atlanta native has received critical acclaim

for his work, and his most recent rap album, “PaperTrail,” has been getting plenty of play due to its hitsingle, “Whatever You Like.”

T.I. was once known as Tip, the name he’s hadsince he was a child. When he signed his first recorddeal with Arista Records, he had to drop the ‘P’ andswitch to T.I. because the label was also home to themore established MC at the time, Q-Tip.

Since his 2001 debut LP, “I’m Serious,” T.I.’s fanbase and record sales have increased with each al-bum, and the critical accolades have continued toflow as well. His hard work and consistency was fi-nally recognized with the most high-profile nods ofpraise in his career with a pair of Grammy Awardsfor Best Rap Solo Performance, “What You Know,”and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, “My Love” withJustin Timberlake.

T.I. is well-known for his work with Timberlakeand with other accomplished artists, such as Rihan-na, Jay-Z, Usher and Britney Spears.

LAREDO — Pase la tarde delsábado 6 de diciembre en el PlanetarioLamar Bruni Vergara de Texas A&M In-ternational University y explore “Seasonof Light” a las 5 p.m. y 7 p.m., así como“Holiday Music Magis” a las 6 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dólares, en tan-to que niños, estudiantes, personal yex alumnos de TAMIU pagan 4 dólares.Más información llamando al 326.2444.

NUEVO LAREDO — ConciertoNavideño 2008 presenta a la OrquestaSinfónica de la UANL bajo la dirección deFélix Carrasco, así como la presentaciónestelar del violinista concertista GernotWinischhofer,el sábado 6 de diciembre alas 7 p.m.en el teatro principal del CentroCultural Nuevo Laredo. El costo es de 50pesos (3.66 dólares). Puede adquirir suboleto en Sala de Música Talamás y en lataquilla del CCNL el día del evento.

LAREDO — La Laredo Philhar-monic Orchestra junto con el LaredoPhilharmonic Chorale presentan “Mes-siah and More” en el teatro Guadalupeand Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center delLaredo Community College a las 3 p.m.del domingo 7 de noviembre. Más in-formación llamando al (956) 326-3039.

LAREDO — Texas A&M Interna-tional University presenta “Guitarras deNavidad”, el concierto anual de guitarranavideña el domingo 7 de diciembre a las4 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Per-forming Arts Recital Hall.El evento es gra-tuito y abierto al público en general. Másinformación llamando al (956) 326-3046.

LAREDO — Cumpliendo 15 añosde tradición, la Compañía de BalletLaredo presenta The Nutckacker (ElCascanueces) de Piotr IllichTchaikovsky, el domingo 7 de diciembrea las 5 p.m. en el Laredo Civic Center.

El Center for the Fine and Per-forming Arts de Texas A&M Internation-al University presenta la 2008 YoungDancer Christmas Program, el viernes 12de diciembre a las 7 p.m. en el CFPARecital Hall. El programa presentará atodos los estudiantes del Programa deDanza Juvenil, en edades de 2 a 60 añosy del Ballet Folklórico Juvenil. El eventoes gratuito y abierto al público.

EN INTERNET: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 8ASÁBADO 6 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2008ZFronteraAGENDA EN BREVE

Para informar acerca de eventos yactividades envíe el nombre, fecha,hora y dirección, y un número de con-tacto a tiempo@lmtonline.com

Fotos de cortesía | Gobierno de TamaulipasEl Gobernador del Estado, Eugenio Hernández Flores, rindió su Cuarto Informe de Gobierno el domingo 30 de noviembre en Tampico.

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

TAMPICO, México — Al rendir su mensaje a laciudadanía tamaulipeca en ocasión de suCuarto Informe de Gobierno, el gobernador

Eugenio Hernández Flores definió a la eficiencia,capital humano, desarrollo empresarial e in-fraestructura como los cuatro grandes ejes centralesde su administración que se reflejan, gracias a lavisión de un pueblo unido, en una inversión sinprecedente, un desarrollo social que hace historia yun avance sustancial en la competitividad.

Tras comparecer ante el Honorable Congreso Lo-cal en la ceremonia de entrega del documento oficialen cumplimiento del mandato constitucional, eldomingo 30 de noviembre, Hernández Flores por-menorizó ante representantes de la sociedad y au-toridades de los tres órdenes de gobierno las accionesque en conjunto con municipios y Federación per-miten a Tamaulipas avanzar hasta ser el Estadonúmero uno en inversión para infraestructura, el se-gundo en condiciones ideales para la captación de cap-itales y ubicarse a sólo cuatro puntos del primer lugaren la Estrategia Nacional Caminando a la Excelencia.

Al tocar el tema de la crisis, dijo que “Nospreparamos sin esperar el anuncio de tiemposmejores y nos fortalecemos con nuestras convic-ciones para vencer la adversidad”.

Sobre la inseguridad envió un recado al Presi-dente de México, Felipe Calderón, diciendo que “lostamaulipecos valoramos su determinación en estalucha por la seguridad y su voluntad para restable-cer la tranquilidad”.

Fueron once puntos fundamentales los que en-

marcados en el Programa Estatal de Infraestructura2008-2010, que significa una inversión global de 48mil 700 millones de pesos y que ya ha iniciado másde 200 obras:

Dos nuevos cruces internacionales en marcha.Dos nuevos ejes carreteros en marcha.Inversión sin precedente en el medio rural y

Caminos del Campo.Un nuevo puerto de altura en la zona norte.La obra hidráulica más importante de la histo-

ria.Un crecimiento como nunca en la infraestruc-

tura de salud.Las mayores obras detonantes del turismo.Impulso record al desarrollo científico y tec-

nológico.Ubicación como primer Estado en crear la ed-

ucación bilingüe.El Estado número uno en eficiencia guberna-

mental.Consolidación como la fortaleza alimentaria

de México.En forma específica, Hernández Flores citó avances

como la modernización del 65 por ciento de los ejescarreteros; la modernización de puentes interna-cionales; la construcción del Parque Emblemático “ElCielo” y la cristalización del proyecto “La Pesca”; pro-ducciones record en granos, cítricos y ganadería, asícomo el programa Caminos del Campo; un impulso ala red hospitalaria y atención médica, coberturas decasi el 100 por ciento en servicios básicos; depuracióny equipamiento de corporaciones policíacas y ac-ciones en los programas de atención del DIF.

Gobernardor entrega informe

Eventos invitan aconocer más sobre

Guerrero ViejoESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Justo en tiempo para lasnavidades, el Webb CountyHeritage Foundation y el VillaSan Agustin de Laredo Ge-nealogical Society se estánuniendo para presentar dostardes de recuerdos histórico ycultural sobre Guerrero Viejo.

El miércoles 10 de diciem-bre, el público está invitado aasistir a la plática sobre “Histo-ria de Guerrero Viejo” de CarlosRugerio Cazares, director delArchivo General del Estado deTamaulipas. Esta plática seráseguida por una actualizaciónsobre el trabajo que está real-izando para preservar losarchivos históricos de GuerreroViejo el historiador local, CarlosCuellar de la Texas A&M Inter-national University.

Las presentaciones del miér-coles se realizarán a las 6:30p.m. en Casa Ortiz, 915Zaragoza St.

La siguiente tarde, el jueves11 de diciembre, se presentaráel autógrafo de libros y recep-ción para la exhibición“Guerero Viejo Revelaed”,mostrando las fotografías deEverardo Castro Medellin y Eu-gene George, a realizarce en elVilla Antigua Border HeritageMuseum del 810 Zaragoza St.

Los eventos del jueves ini-cian a las 6 p.m.

Everardo Castro Medellin,un ávido fotógrafo, es un ge-ofísico con Petróleos Mexicanos(PEMEX). Su tema favorito es laarquitectura, ambas naturalesy la hecha por el hombre. Las fo-tografías de Medellin se hanmostrado en Austin, Nueva Ciu-dad Guerrero y Reynosa.

Eugene George es un Fellowof the American Institute of Ar-chitects que es reconocido por

sus estudios de la arquitectura ypreservación de la historia enla frontera Texas-México. Su li-bro, “The Lost Architecture ofthe Rio Grande Borderlands:The Tragedy of the FalcónReservoir” de Texas A&M Uni-versity Press será presentadopara ser autografiado.

“Estamos encantados de co-laborar con la Villa San Agustinde Laredo Genealogical Soci-ety para presentar esos doseventos vespertinos de tantosignificado histórico para mu-chos residentes del Sur deTexas cuyos ancestros tienenuna relación con GuerreroViejo”, dijo Margarita Araiza,directora ejecutiva del WebbCounty Heritage Foundation.

“Además, el autógrafo de li-bros dará una oportunidadpara conocer a los fotógrafos ycomprar un regalo navideñomuy original”.

Guerrero Viejo, anterior-mente conocido como Revilla,fue uno de los cinco lugares es-tablecidos al norte por José deEscandón en el Nuevo San-tander, una de las últimasprovincias al norte de la NuevaEspaña durante el siglo 18. Re-villa, fundado en 1750, fuerenombrada Ciudad Guererroen 1827 en honor de VicenteGuerrero, un héroe de la inde-pendencia mexicana. En 1953,Guerrero Viejo sufrió una inun-dación completa de las reservasinternacionales de Falcon. Cuan-do las aguas de la reserva dis-minuyeron, como lo hacen per-iódicamente, las bellas piedrasde la estructura de Guerrero sedan a conocer nuevamente.

Más información llamandoal Webb County Heritage Foun-dation llamando al (956) 727-0977 ó escribiendo a her-itage@webbheritage.org.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 9ALOCAL

Laredo to light itstree today

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

“Here comes Santa Claus,here comes Santa Claus, ridingdown Santa Claus Lane.”

Actually, it will be SanBernardo Avenue, but after join-ing his helpers in the paradethat kicks off NavidadFest to-day, the jolly old guy in the redsuit will join Mayor Raul G.Salinas to officially “flip theswitch” at this year’s tree light-ing ceremony in San AgustinPlaza.

The revelry will begin at 4p.m. with a parade and per-formances for the community.The parade, featuring LaredoIndependent School Districtand United ISD dance andcheer groups, countless floats,mounted patrols, motorcycles,cars and, of course, that fa-mous Z-93/Guerra Communi-cation Sleigh carrying SantaClaus and Salinas, will winddown San Bernardo Avenue,starting at the Laredo Cham-ber of Commerce, and end atthe Mercadito Plaza on HidalgoStreet.

Attendees can watch the fes-tivities along the parade route orwait downtown to catch anynumber of performances thatwill already be taking place onone of two stages in San AgustinPlaza. Z-93/Guerra Communi-cations masters of ceremoniesLuis “The Bird” Rodriguez andSam Almanza will help tell thestory of the various performers,entertaining the crowd until theofficial tree-lighting at 6:30 p.m.,when they will be joined by anadditional master of cere-

monies, Tim Gutierrez of Pro8News.

Performances will continuein San Agustin Plaza, while San-ta Claus greets children, takespictures and passes out goodybags. Children will also have achance to break any one of fourholiday piñatas filled with can-dy.

At 7 p.m., the “Pastorela,” atraditional Mexican holiday playthat kicks off the re-enactmentof Mary and Joseph’s journeyto find lodging for the night, willbe shown. A posada followingthe theatrical performance willlead back to the Mercadito Plazato the Laredo Center for theArts, where performances by Vi-dal M. Treviño School of FineArts and Communications stu-dents, including a sample of“The Nutcracker” ballet, will beoffered inside their facility.

LCA will also feature an artdisplay by students from theUnited Day School art depart-ment, as well as an ongoingsilent auction of more than 50beautifully decorated piñatascreated by students from theirart camps, as well as studentsfrom the Bethany House.

Attendees at the NavidadFestwill find a lovely array of arti-sans and holiday crafts, as wellas delicious and traditionalMexican holiday foods, soldthroughout downtown. En-trance to NavidadFest is free.

The event is organized by theCity of Laredo, Convention andVisitors Bureau, Laredo Centerfor the Arts, La Posada Hotel,Main Streets Laredo and theMexican Consulate’s Office.

Live a healthy life - read Salud only in

Laredo Morning Times

BY DORA MARTINEZ

Zapata County and the surrounding area,both north and south of Rio Grande River,abound in a romantic history even as its peo-ple move forward into the future.

The Spanish-American heritage of the re-gion is quite apparent and influential in everyaspect of life.

Texas proudly relates its history of havingbeen under six flags: France, Spain, Mexico,the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and theUnited States.

Zapata County adds a seventh flag, that ofthe Republic of Rio Grande. It is here that theintense but short-lived republic was born, andit’s from one of the participants in that effortthat the city and county derive their names.

Falcon Lake Reservoir was dedicated onOct. 19, 1953, by President Dwight D. Eisen-hower, becoming the second fresh water lake

in the state of Texas. The lake covers an areaof about 87,300 acres along the Rio GrandeRiver on the U.S.-Mexico Border. It offers 432miles of shoreline, breathtaking scenery and israted among the best bass fishing lakes inTexas. Several fishing tournaments take placeat Falcon Lake, attracting fishing enthusiaastsfrom all over. There are also sports fishingstores where you will find all you need foryour next fishing adventure. And there is a freecrossing into Mexico over the dam.

Other outdoor activities include golf at LosEbanos Golf Course, which is soon to be an 18hole course. Hunting is also another wildliferesource in South Texas, where there is a plen-tiful supply of white-tailed deer, blue and whitequail, mourning doves and white wing doves.

For more nature there are hundreds ofacres to explore, with a virtual gold mind of

precious rocks such as fossils, arrowheads andIndian artifacts along the Rio Grande.

Bird watching plays an important role here,too; one of the prized birds on the birders listis the White-Collared seedeater, which canbe seen here during the winter months — that’swhen the snowbirds, as we call them comedown from the north, and enjoy all these ac-tivities.

The public schools are in a 3A District,providing equal, revlevant and quality in-struction for all its students. Many graduateshave attended the nation’s highly respecteduniversities. For civic and social organiza-tions, you can visit the Chamber of Commerce,where you will find anything you wish toknow.

(Dora Martinez is a native of Zapata whowas publisher of Hispanic News in San Anto-nio for 21 years. She can be reached at theza-patatimes@att.net)

COLUMN

Zapata area offers plenty for everyone

Training seminar setfor Dec. 12

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The deadline for register-ing for a land managementand pesticide training semi-nar is Monday, Dec. 8.

The training, to be con-ducted by the Monte Mu-cho Soil and Water Con-servation District and theUSDA-Natural ResourcesConservation Service, isscheduled for Dec. 12 inHebbronville.

To register, call ErikaMelo at (361) 527-3253 ext. 3.

Registration is $10 andwill include lunch. Regis-tration will be from 8 a.m.to 8:30 a.m. The trainingwill be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.at the First NationalBank, 305 N. Smith Av-enue, in the communityroom.

Attendees will receive fivecontinuing education units(CEUs) toward their pesti-cide applicators license.

Rio Bravo Resource Con-servation and DevelopmentCouncil is a co-sponsor ofthe training.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Photo by Marlen Guerra/ALBES | Special to the TimesStudents of the month for November for Arturo L. Benavides Elementary School were recently honored. In the back row, leftto right, are Robert Salinas, fifth grade; Raquel Juarez, fourth grade; Kimberly Santos, third grade. In the front row, left to right,are Natalia Banda, kindergarten; Brianna Solis, first grade; and Sabrina Hughes, second grade.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 10AZbusiness SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

Could $1 gas be close? Energy prices falling

By MARK WILLIAMSASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oilprices hit four-year lows Fridayas employers cut the highestnumber of jobs in 34 years. Thecontinuing decline in prices is sodramatic and so sudden that it israising the prospect that gasprices could soon fall below $1 agallon.

The worst jobs data in 34 yearsFriday just added more fuel to thedeepening global recession as U.S.employers slashed a far-worse-than-expected 533,000 jobs in No-vember and the unemploymentrate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7percent.

A gallon of gasoline can be hadfor 50 cents less than it cost justlast month, and people are start-ing to talk about $1 gas.

Granted, gas prices are a longway off from that magic numberlast seen in March 1999, whenprices were at 97 cents a gallon,according to motor club AAA.Prices at the pump fell 1.6 centsovernight to $1.773 nationally, ac-cording to AAA, the Oil Price In-formation Service and WrightExpress.

But consider what has hap-pened since July 11, when a barrelof oil hit a record $147.27, and July17, when a gallon of gas was$4.117. In less than five months, oilhas fallen 72 percent.

Just this week, in which theNational Bureau of Economic Re-search determined that the U.S.is in a recession, oil has fallen 25percent.

On Friday, light, sweet crudefor January delivery settled at$40.81 a barrel on the New YorkMercantile Exchange, down bynearly $3 per barrel. Prices fell aslow at $40.50, levels last seen inDecember 2004.

Gasoline futures for Januarydelivery tumbled to 90 cents.

For gas prices to get close to $1,oil prices probably would need to

fall another $10 a barrel — some-thing that would have impossibleto fathom during first part of thisyear as oil prices soared near $150per barrel.

“Just seeing that ‘1’ up there isjust hard to imagine,” said KevinKeating, 65, an attorney, as hefilled up his Volvo S60 at a stationin Phoenix that advertised pricesat $1.67. “Wasn’t that long agothat we worried about the ‘4’ be-ing up there.”

Prices in New York City arewell above the national averages,but still well off their highs ofnearly $5 this summer.

“When gas prices are OK, wemake a little profit,” said MamadyKourouma, 36, a cab driver fromGuinea who paid $2.41 a gallon ata station in Chelsea.

With wages stagnant, homeprices plummeting and foreclo-sure rates soaring, dollar-a-gal-lon gas may help mom fill up inthe family minivan and cab driv-ers in New York City, but pricesthat low also would truly speak tohow rotten the economy has be-come.

“The economy at that pointworldwide would be in a seri-ous, serious deterioration,” saidGeoff Sundstrom, spokesman forAAA.

Tom Kloza, publisher and chiefoil analyst at Oil Price Informa-tion Service, said Thursday on hisblog that retail prices could fetch$1.25 a gallon soon in parts of theMidwest, including Ohio, Indiana,Illinois and Missouri.

Already, some parts of thecountry are seeing prices aroundthat level. According to the Web

site gasbuddy.com, where mo-torists can post local gas prices,motorists can fill up for $1.29 inNeelyville, Mo., a village of about500 people near the Arkansasstate line.

The jobs number suggests thatdemand for gasoline, which hasbeen running well below year-agolevels even with the cheaperprices in the last several weeks,will fall even more in early 2009as work-related driving plum-mets, said Kloza.

“I believe that January 2009will represent the most ‘challeng-ing’ and ugly economic month ofmy lifetime, and my first memoryis of Sputnik,” Kloza said.

There is plenty of reason tosuspect Kloza is right.

Since the start of the reces-sion, the economy has lost 1.9 mil-lion jobs, the number of unem-ployed people has increased by2.7 million and the jobless rate isup 1.7 percentage points. Themeltdown in financial marketshas crushed lending, and the De-troit 3 are on the brink of bank-ruptcy without a big governmentbailout.

Friday’s report was muchdeeper than the 320,000 job cutseconomists were forecasting. Ifthere is a plus side, it is that theunemployment rate did not climbto the 6.8 percent level economistswere expecting.

Kloza does not believe priceswill make it to $1. Gas prices lastneared a dollar Dec. 18, 2001,three months after the terroristattacks and when the country wasin its last recession, when priceshit $1.08 a gallon.

“The economy at that point worldwidewould be in a serious, serious

deterioration.”AAA SPOKESMAN GEOFF SUNDSTROM

Stocks turn higher after dismal jobs report

By TIM PARADISASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Wall Street’s initial dejectionover a bleak employment report dissipated Fridayas the Labor Department’s data raised investorhopes for further government measures to prop upthe economy. Stocks turned sharply higher aftershowing steep losses in the first half of the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which hadbeen down 258 points, traded essentially flat.Broader indexes showed more strength.

The Labor Department’s report that employersslashed 533,000 jobs in November was far worsethan the 320,000 that economists forecast. In-vestors who originally sold on the news had achange of heart by afternoon, believing the num-bers could make the government more likely tosupply more aid for the economy. They also ap-peared relieved by the market’s relatively cool re-action to the data — trading was orderly and thehuge loss of jobs didn’t spark the type of massivesell-off it might have even a month ago, when WallStreet still trying to determine how severe the re-cession would be.

“In a kind of paradoxical sense, the really uglyemployment numbers probably helped the casefor more help from Washington, whether it’sthrough the broader stimulus plan or more tar-geted industry measures,” said Craig Peckham,equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Co.

Job losses were widespread, hitting manufac-turing, construction, retail, financial and othersectors.

Beyond the hopes for more aggressive moves bythe government, strength in the tattered financialsector also gave a boost to the overall market. Anupbeat forecast from Hartford Financial ServicesGroup Inc. cut through some of investors’ fears thatprofits among financial firms would continue tospiral lower.

The company raised its profit expectations forthe year and quelled some concerns about thestrength of its balance sheet. The stock jumped$7.01, or 97 percent, to $14.22. Other financialsjumped. Wells Fargo & Co. rose 98 cents, or 3.6 per-cent, to $28.53, while National City Corp. rose 16cents, or 8.9 percent, to $1.96.

In midafternoon trading, the Dow industrialsjumped 137.71, or 1.64 percent, to 8,513.95.

cases before it was around.”Perez has been a police inves-

tigator for 12 years. Because she isa woman, cases involving sexualabuse were often given to her.

Perez said the sequence ofevents for investigations beforethe advocacy center would gosomething like this:

The victim cries out to some-one he or she trusts, perhaps ateacher.

The teacher informs theguidance counselor or a schoolnurse, usually both, and asks thechild to recount the story.

The principal gets involvedand asks to speak to the child, who

has to repeat what they’ve alreadytold three adults. Mom gets calledand is furious because she isprobably dependent on whoeverthe accused is.

The police arrive and ask tospeak to the child, who has toretell everything. And the officerwho takes the report isn’t neces-sarily the one to handle the case.

Victims had to tell their storiesto up to 10 adults even before go-ing to court and sharing their per-sonal stories with a room full ofstrangers.

“These are the kinds of thingsthat these children have had todeal with,” said Sylvia Bruni, the

center’s executive director. “It’sembarrassing for us as grownadults. Can you imagine a childbeing put through that kind of adrill in front of a group of totalstrangers?”

Today, children who cry outto an adult don’t have to telltheir story more than threetimes, in most cases. As soon asa child tells someone, they canbe sent to the Children’s Advo-cacy Center for a forensic inter-view with a trained, experiencedperson.

To help cope with the heart-wrenching cases, there is humorat meetings with other investiga-

tors, attorneys and colleagues. It’sbasic to survival.

“I get such a kick out of thembecause that group, as far as I’mconcerned, they walk on water,”Bruni said. “They are phenome-nal, people like Cordy, becausethey actually go out and workwith the children.”

Perez, who is also on the CACBoard of Directors, plans to con-tinue her work with the centereven if she leaves the Special In-vestigations Unit.

“We’ve had many success sto-ries, and I can attribute them tothe center,” Perez said. “I believein the center.”

The most immediate successis the justice granted to the vic-tims, Perez said. The average sen-tence before the CAC got involvedwas 10 years probation. Today,

individuals serve 20-, 30- or 40-year terms and life sentences.

For more information aboutthe Children’s Advocacy Center,call 753-7222.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 11A

UNITED WAY | Continued from Page 1A

Morales made his initial ap-pearance in federal court Thurs-day and is scheduled for arraign-ment Tuesday. A copy of theindictment was not availableThursday.

FBI agents in McAllen arrest-ed agent Salomon Ruiz, 34,Wednesday on similar charges ina related but separate case, ac-cording to the U.S. Attorney’s Of-fice.

“The recent arrest of LeoneMorales is a reminder of the se-vere consequences of succumb-ing to avarice and the promise ofill-gotten gains,” said Carlos X.Carrillo, chief patrol agent, Lare-do Sector, in a prepared state-ment. “The men and women ofthe U.S. Border Patrol and theLaredo Sector, who each day per-form their duty with honor andintegrity on America’s frontline,remain staunchly committed todefending the rule of law and thesecurity of our nation.”

The investigation was carried

out by the FBI, the Department ofHomeland Security – Office of In-spector General, and Customsand Border Protection InternalAffairs.

The FBI’s public corruption in-vestigators have been active inZapata in recent years.

Julio Alfonso Lopez, formerdeputy commander of the LaredoMulti-Agency Narcotics TaskForce; Jose Alberto Amaro, a for-mer investigator with the ZapataCounty Attorney’s Office and theZapata County Sheriff’s Depart-ment; and Manuel “Meme” Mar-tinez, a former Zapata Countysheriff’s deputy and former jus-tice of the peace, were convictedin 2007 of taking money from un-dercover FBI agents, who the of-ficials thought were drug traf-fickers, and allowing the“traffickers” safe passage throughZapata County.

(Jason Buch may be reachedat 728-2547 or jbuch@lmton-line.com)

BRIBERY | Continued from Page 1A

undergo financial screening, andif they qualify, they will receive le-gal representation for their un-contested civil cases, said IsraelReyna, manager of RioGrandeLegal Aid’s Laredo office.

“We’ll make sure everyone hasa lawyer by their side when theycome here,” Reyna said at Tues-day’s announcement in the 49thDistrict Court. “It takes a lawyerto get through this maze of a legalsystem.”

Improperly prepared docu-ments can lead to problems lateron, said Luciano Rodriguez, a pri-vate attorney who will volunteerfor the social justice court.

If there are problems with thelawsuit when it’s disposed of,there might be enforcement prob-lems later, Rodriguez said. Insome cases it might mean oneside will have trouble collectingchild support, he said.

“It’s judicially economical tohave someone aid the folks andmake sure they do it right,” Ro-driguez said.

The court is based on the

monthly night court in WebbCounty, which judges and attor-neys donate their time for, Lopezsaid. The Webb County court hasbeen successful, and he’s trying toduplicate that in Zapata.

To participate in the social jus-tice court, call Texas RioGrandeLegal Aid at (956) 718-4683 or(888) 988-9996. Residents will bescreened for participation in theprogram.

(Jason Buch may be reachedat 728-2547 or jbuch@lmton-line.com)

LEGAL | Continued from Page 1A

“I think there’s been some talkof one coming in to town and set-ting up within a residential area,”Rathmell said.

As the zoning of Zapata standsright now, an adult-oriented busi-ness could set up in a neighbor-hood of single-family homes if itsowners so desired.

Also on Monday’s agenda is aconstruction contract for the newwater plant.

Officials say it likely will beawarded at Monday’s meeting.

Zapata County has received aloan from the Texas Water Devel-opment Board for $14.6 millionfor the plant’s construction.

The plans are for it to be able

to deliver 7 million gallons of wa-ter a day.

“We’ve been working on it forthe last two years,” Rathmell said.“It’s gotten through to the bidphase.”

Construction should begin inJanuary.

“It’s a big project that we’vebeen anticipating,” Rathmellsaid.

The Commissioners Courtmeets at 9 a.m. Monday at theZapata County Courthouse. Pre-siding over the court is CountyJudge Rosalva Guerra.

(Zach Lindsey may bereached at 728-2538 or zach@lm-tonline.com)

SEX BIZ | Continued from Page 1A

SSEEVVEERROO VVIILLLLAARRRREEAALL

Severo Villarreal, 89, passedaway Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, atLaredo Medical Center.

For additional questions ortimes, please call Rose GardenFuneral Home at (956) 765-8311,or visit us at www.rosegardenfu-neralhome.com.

OBITUARIES

“We’ll make sureeveryone has a

lawyer by their sidewhen they come

here.”RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID LAREDOOFFICE MANAGER ISRAEL REYNA

The popularity has led the park have aweekly presentation called “Ask Fran” onWednesdays.

Falcon State Park Superintendent DonaldBeard said the park’s location — between twodistinct climates — enables it to play host tothe variety of species of butterflies.

“We are kind of in a transition area; downin the Lower Valley, you get the tropicalspecies, and up in Laredo and Zapata is moreof an arid species,” he said. “We are kind of ina transition (area), so we get both. Stuff youcan’t see down there and stuff you can’t seeup there, we get it all.”

Bartle said that even in winter, thoughnot the peak time for butterfly watching,more species of butterflies can still be seen atFalcon State Park than many other part of thecounty see all year round.

“We have 47 species in January,” she said.“There are many states that don’t have thatmany throughout the state in the peak times… so that way, winter Texans and folks thatare down here in the winter, there will be but-terflies and flowers in the winter so they canenjoy the garden.”

Beard said he would like more people torealize that aside from the garden, the park

provides ample opportunities for people fromall walks of life to enjoy themselves.

“This is an awesome park in general,” hesaid. “We have some of the best fishing, we gotan awesome boat ramp here, people can comecook out and barbecue, we have bird watching.

“We have three miles worth of naturetrails that people around here don’t evenknow about,” he added. “You can bring bikes,and we got plans to add more, at least doublethe trails and make some designated bikingtrails. It’s a beautiful park.”

(Julian Aguilar may be reached at 728-2557 or jaguilar@lmtonline.com)

BUTTERFLIES | Continued from Page 1A

Firefighters battle blazeBy NICK GEORGIOUTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata firefighters battled a grassfireThursday afternoon off Texas 16 near Busta-mante Street.

Fire Chief Juan J. Meza said the blaze de-stroyed about 100 acres.

No injuries were reported. Meza said a Ford F-150’s catalytic con-

verter triggered the fire at about 3 p.m. By thetime firefighters arrived, the vehicle was en-gulfed in flames.

“The grass was maybe 19 to 20 incheshigh,” he said. “When you have grass thathigh and you drive a vehicle into it, not know-ing the danger of it, the catalytic converter(can get) very hot and start a grass fire veryquick.”

About eight firefighters responded to theblaze. It took them approximately two hoursto control and extinguish the fire, Meza said,adding that the crew stayed for another hourto make sure they killed all the hot spots.

While there is no burn ban in effect in Za-pata County, officials urge caution. Much of

Central Texas is in a severe drought, and thatarea is widening.

Meza recommended that people avoiddriving into high grass areas because cat-alytic converts can get hot and start a fire.

“You’re going to lose your vehicle and pos-sibly your life because grass burns prettyquick,” he said. “It’s getting dry out there.

“The humidity is too low, and it doesn’ttake much heat to start a fire. I know it’s go-ing to get busy on us.”

(To reach Nick Georgiou, call 728-2582 ore-mail nickg@lmtonline.com)

Protect yourself for the holidaysSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

This holiday season, auto bur-glars will shop the easy way — bystealing gifts, purses, wallets,packages, electronics or othervaluables left in plain sight in-side vehicles.

Every two minutes, a vehicleis burglarized in Texas and thecontents stolen, according to staterecords. These crimes escalateduring the holiday season, whenpeople shop more often. Anddrivers often don’t take neces-sary precautions to avoid becom-ing burglary victims.

The Texas Automobile Bur-glary and Theft Prevention Au-thority, a division of the TexasDepartment of Transportation,offers safety tips to motorists to

help prevent vehicle crimes dur-ing the holidays and throughoutthe year:

Hide your belongings fromview

Lock your vehiclesTake your keys

Last year, thieves committedmore than 262,000 acts of vehicleburglary and stole more than94,000 vehicles in Texas. In somejurisdictions, more than half ofreported thefts occurred becausevehicle doors were unlocked andkeys were left inside.

“We want everyone to enjoythe holiday season and not expe-rience the violation and frustra-tion of having their vehicles bur-glarized or stolen,” said CharlesCaldwell, interim director of theTexas ABTPA.

“We encourage all vehicleowners and operators to helpprevent such crimes from hap-pening by practicing simple theftprevention measures.”

When vehicles are stolen,thieves have easy access to every-thing left inside, including itemssuch as garage door openers,house keys and personal infor-mation, which can all lead to ad-ditional and more serious crimes,as well as further victimization ofthe vehicle owner.

“We know that auto burglarsscout malls, shopping centersand other retail parking lots thistime of year looking for the per-fect opportunity to break into ve-hicles,” said Michelle Lanham,program coordinator for ABTPA’sReduce Auto Theft in Texas pub-

lic awareness task force at theUniversity of North Texas CaruthPolice Institute in Dallas. “With-in seconds, these criminals canget inside a car, steal the contentsand be on their way from thescene. And experienced thievescan steal a vehicle without keysin less than a minute.

The Texas Auto Theft Preven-tion Authority was created by theTexas Legislature in 1991 to fundprograms to reduce vehiclethefts. In 2007, the Legislatureexpanded the scope of theagency to include automobileburglary prevention and addedthe term “burglary” to thegroup’s title.

For more information on ve-hicle theft prevention, visitwww.txwatchyourcar.com.

THE ONE AND ONLY

Photo by Richard Avedon/Christie’s | APAABBOOVVEE:: In this photo released by Christie’s auction house, actress Marilyn Monroe pos-es for photographer Richard Avedon in 1957. LLEEFFTT:: In this photo released by Christie’s,actress Marilyn Monroe poses for photographer Bert Stern in 1962.The photo is amongmore than 100 Monroe images being offered for sale in three sessions Dec. 16-17 atChristie’s. They are expected to bring from $811,000 to $1.1 million.

Photo by Bert Stern/Christie’s | AP

12A | THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

Photos by Marlen Guerra | Special to the TimesThe colorful home of philanthropist Adrian Martinez is on the San Ygnacio Historic Homes Tour.

San Ygnacio invites all to historic homes tour

By DIANA R. FUENTESLAREDO MORNING TIMES

The annual San Ygnacio His-toric Homes Tour is set for Sun-day, Dec. 7, providing delightfulentertainment, good food and atour of some of the town’s mostbeautiful homes, all for a goodcause.

“You are cordially invited tospend an extraordinary day inhistoric San Ygnacio for the grandtour of the homes,” said GerardoMontes, principal of Arturo L. Be-navides Elementary School inSan Ygnacio. “Your visit will beheartfelt. Bring family andfriends.”

The event raises funds for theschool.

Entertainment begins at theBlas Maria Uribe Plaza on GrantStreet at 11:30 a.m. Plates oftamales will be sold for $6 each,and can be enjoyed while the en-tertainers are performing.

Tickets for the tour are also $6each, and will be available at theplaza.

The tour is from 1:30 p.m. to5:30 p.m. All the sites are withinwalking distance, but there will bea hay trailer offering rides be-

tween the stops. The holiday tour has been con-

ducted for more than 20 years,and is one of the most popularevents of the season.

“It’s a tradition for our school,”said Marlen Guerra, librarian atBenavides Elementary, who is oneof the organizers.

This year’s tour will visit eightsites, including several homesdecorated for the holidays, FortTreviño and Maria del Refugio

Catholic Church.The weather is expected to be

sunny and mild Sunday with clearskies and a high in the upper 70s,just perfect for taking a pleasantwalking tour of one of the state’smost historic towns.

To get to Blas Maria Uribeplaza, head south from Laredo onU.S. 83. When you get to SanYgnacio, make a right on GrantStreet and follow it straight to theplaza.

Blas Maria Uribe Plaza is the starting point for the annual tour.

Sports&OutdoorsThe Zapata Times

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COMSATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

Hawks looking to place hoops on the radar screen again

By NINO CARDENASTHE ZAPATA TIMES

There’s a revival movement of sorts going on atZapata High School, as first-year boys’ basketballcoach Juan Villarreal is busy trying to show thatthere is sporting life after football.

The effort to bring back the glory years of the pastfalls squarely on the shoulders of seven seniors andfive sophomores.

Only 38 players decided to test the basketballwaters in the preseason.

“Since football got real big, some kids went tomore of a football mindset. I know what Zapata bas-ketball used to be and mean,” Villarreal said.

The Hawks used to love their basketball, and ig-niting that passion was a 1967 team that captured thestate championship, followed by some good runs

that have started sputtering in recent years.The Hawks (1-3) aren’t exactly brimming with ex-

perience this season, but they do have four seniors tosteady the ship and one sophomore to soak up the ex-perience.

“I know the seniors have the talent to be good.Hopefully we can try to rebuild,” Villarreal said.

The starting five is made up of senior point guard

Hawks start with winBy CLARA SANDOVAL

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Sophomore Brandi Kingpoured in 15 points, and team-mate Adriana Pena added 10points as the Zapata Lady Hawksrallied from a three-point deficitat halftime to beat Falfurrias, 47-38, on the road Tuesday night.

Lynda Leyva and Clarissa So-lis chipped in with six pointsapiece.

The Lady Hawks (2-3) pickedup their second win and handedFalfurrias (7-2) its second loss ofthe pre-district season.

It was a tale of two halvesfor the Lady Hawks, who dis-played a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydepersonality.

In the firsthalf, Zapata’ssloppy andcareless ballhandling led toturnovers and

points for the Lady Jerseys.“We were making too many

careless mistakes and not tak-ing care of the ball in the firsthalf,” Zapata coach Clyde Guer-ra said.

Those uncharacteristic mis-takes had the Lady Hawks downby thee points heading into half-time, 20-17.

In the second half, the LadyHawks went back to their funda-mental basketball game plan andsaw positive results.

Point guard Myra Alaniz

started to control the tempo ofthe game with her ball handlingskills to help the Lady Hawkstake the lead in the game.

“Once Myra started to controlthe game, it gave us an opportu-nity to play fundamental basket-ball in a very physical game,”Guerra said.

The Lady Hawks also startedto control the boards and put insecond-chance shots.

The Lady Hawks pulled awayin the final period to come awaywith the victory.

Zapata is at the Alice tourna-ment this weekend and will facevery good competition againststate-ranked teams.

“I know what Zapata basketball used to be and mean.”

BASKETBALL COACH JUAN VILLARREAL

NCAA | BIG 12

Bradford tops McCoy for All-Big 12 1st-team QBBy JAIME ARON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Picking the topquarterback on the All-Big 12team was about as difficult as fig-uring out the South divisionchampion.

But the result was the same:Oklahoma.

Although Texas’ Colt McCoywas chosen offensive player of theyear by the 20 voters in ballotingconducted by The AssociatedPress, the same group picked Ok-lahoma’s Sam Bradford over Mc-Coy for the prized first-team spoton the all-conference squad re-leased Thursday.

Bradford’s victory was by asingle point and the details are abit mind-numbing, like the BCSformula that vaulted the Soonersover the Longhorns and into theBig 12 title game.

So, take a deep breath and per-haps grab some scratch paper to fol-low along on how this played out.

— First, the ground rules: TheAP uses a panel of writers whoregularly cover the Big 12 for news-papers across the conference’s sev-en states; 10 are based in the Big 12North, 10 in the South. Each gets topick one first-team quarterbackand one second-teamer. The first-team vote is worth two points, thesecond-team vote is worth one.

—Bradfordgot nine first-team votes, 10for second teamand was left offone ballot.That’s 28.

—McCoy got10 first-teamvotes, seven forsecond teams and was left offthree. That’s 27.

Like the Big 12 race, TexasTech was the spoiler.

Red Raiders quarterback Gra-ham Harrell was the only otherquarterback to get a vote. Hepicked up four, one for first teamand three for second team. Thus,

the race swungon whether theHarrell support-ers picked Mc-Coy or Bradfordas their otherchoice. Threewent with Brad-ford and onewith McCoy.

To emphasize how big of a dif-ference that was, consider thatBradford and McCoy were bothnamed on 16 ballots. Nine favoredMcCoy over Bradford, seven wentthe other way.

McCoy became the front-run-ner for this award and many oth-ers after leading Texas past Brad-

ford and Oklahoma in mid-Octo-ber. His campaign lost some steamwhen Harrell and the Red Raidersknocked off the Longhorns.Around that time, Bradford andthe Sooners were getting on a bigroll of their own.

Bradford guided Oklahoma to60 points in each of its last fourgames, including a romp overTexas Tech. Bradford also finishedthe season with an NCAA-best 46touchdowns and 300 yards pass-ing in 10 games.

The Sooners, Longhorns andRed Raiders finished in a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South. Thefirst four tiebreakers didn’t settleanything, so it went to a fifth op-

tion, the BCS rankings. That fa-vored Oklahoma, sending Brad-ford and his pals into the confer-ence title game Saturday againstNo. 19 Missouri. If the Soonerswin that, they’ll be headed to thenational championship game,likely against the winner of theSEC championship game.

Oklahoma will go into thegame with a league-best six first-team all-conference picks, includ-ing linebacker Travis Lewis, theonly freshman to make the topsquad, and offensive linemanDuke Robinson, who was first-team last year, too.

BRADFORD McCOY

NFL | DALLAS

’Boys, Steelersready for kickoff

By ALAN ROBINSONASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roeth-lisberger wasn’t born yet whenthe Dallas-Pittsburgh rivalrythrived with two 1970s-era Su-per Bowl matchups, back whenthe Cowboys first gained thenickname of America’s Teambut the Steelers were Ameri-ca’s champions.

The Steelers quarterbackgains an apprecia-tion each day forwhat those DoomsdayDefenses versus theSteel Curtain gamesmeant not only to thenearly two dozen Hallof Famers who played in them,but the cities they represent.

The numerous pictures dis-played at Steelers headquarters— and the two Super Bowl tro-phies earned by beating Dallas— tell him all he needs to know.

“It’s here every day whenyou walk in,’’ Roethlisbergersaid. “You know how special it isfrom a team standpoint. To us,it’s another huge game.’’

Huge, indeed. Cowboys-Steelers games

have been a scarce commodity

of late, with only five meetingsin 20 seasons. But Sunday’s con-test may be the most significantduring the regular season sincedisco was king and the quarter-backs were Roger Staubach andTerry Bradshaw, not Roethlis-berger and Tony Romo.

The Steelers (9-3) couldmake the playoffs for the sixthtime in eight years by winning,as long as the Patriots and Dol-phins lose. Also, Mike Tomlin

could become thefirst coach in the

franchise’s 76-year his-tory to win at least 10games in each of his firsttwo seasons.

For the Cowboys, it’seven more of a must-win game.They probably need to win threeof their final four to reach theplayoffs and, with the Giants,Ravens and Eagles to follow,there’s not much margin for error.

“This is the type of game thatyou want to play in,’’ Cowboyslinebacker Bradie James said. “Be-cause if you don’t play well againstthese guys, it kind of lets you knowwhere you are. We need everygame going into the stretch.’’

A-Ware of successCowboys LB D-Ware is a dominating force

By STEPHEN HAWKINSASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — DeMarcus Waresurely expected a runningplay on third-and-short.

Frank Gore instead burst out ofthe backfield and into a deeppass pattern.

Ware, the Cowboys line-backer better known for sackingquarterbacks before they caneven throw the ball, stuck withSan Francisco’s dual-threat run-ning back step for step — andbroke up the pass more than 20yards downfield.

While Ware is the NFL sacksleader, he has a unique blend ofstrength, agility and quicknessthat allows him to make playsand be a dominating force allover the field.

“He’s dismantling people,”teammate Marcus Spears said.“D-Ware plays the run like adown lineman; he also can get tothe quarterback with a powerrush or can run past them. Sothose facets of his game arewhat makes him exceptional.”

Ware’s three sacks in theCowboys’ last game Thanksgiv-ing Day pushed his season totalto 15. Those came in less thanthree quarters before Ware sus-tained a hyperextended leftknee, an injury that kept himout some practices this week butisn’t expected to keep him fromplaying Sunday.

When his left leg twisted awk-wardly while again rushing Seat-tle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck,Ware fell to the ground. An un-easy feeling settled over sudden-ly quiet Texas Stadium when itbecame apparent he was hurt.

The Cowboys (8-4), a presea-son Super Bowl favorite nowfighting just to earn a wild-cardspot, already had struggledthrough three games without in-

jured Tony Romo. The quarter-back’s return sparked a three-game winning streak, and nowtheir defensive leader was down.

But Ware got up after a fewminutes and walked to the side-line and locker room withoutany assistance, and even re-turned to the field for thepostgame celebration. Ware ex-pects to play Sunday at Pitts-burgh wearing a protectivebrace on his knee.

“Guys might try to go at it orcut me,” Ware said. “That’s partof the game.”

Defenses have had little suc-cess stopping Ware, no matterwhat they do.

“Our guys are short, squattytry-hard guys,” Steelers coach

Mike Tom-lin said thisweek whenasked tocomparehis standoutlinebackerJames Har-rison toWare. “De-Marcus is a

freak of nature.” Said Spears, “Having him out

there, offenses have to accountand change things up. He affectsthe game before it starts.”

Along with his career-best 15sacks, Ware already has 76 tackles(five for losses), 16 quarterbackpressures, three pass breakupsand three forced fumbles.

“He’s an instinctive playerand he’s a smart player,” saidZach Thomas, a seven-time ProBowl linebacker who joined theCowboys this season. “He’s sotalented. He really has im-pressed me with his consistency.You really don’t see him havean off game.”

In the only game this seasonWare didn’t have a sack, endinghis NFL record-matching streakof 10 consecutive games withone, he was in the face of TampaBay’s Jeff Garcia to force a vic-tory-clinching incompletion onfourth down from the Cowboys18 with 13 seconds left.

Ware since has a modest

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | APIn this Nov. 23 photo, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) celebrates after sacking San Francisco 49ers quar-terback Shaun Hill (13) during their game in Irving.

SUNDAY’SGAME

DALLAS COWBOYS atPITTSBURGH STEELERS

4:15 p.m.Cable channel

5 FOX

BEN ROETHLISBERGER TONY ROMO

See KICKOFF | PAGE 2B See WARE | PAGE 2B

See BIG 12 | PAGE 2B

See HOOPS | PAGE 2B See HAWKS | PAGE 2B

CCHHLLNNOORRTTHHEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

NNoorrtthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

Oklahoma City 14 2 2 30 59 32

Bossier-Shreveport 11 5 2 24 59 47

Mississippi 11 8 0 22 60 56

Tulsa 5 10 2 12 48 81

NNoorrtthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

Colorado 15 3 0 30 85 52

Rocky Mountain 6 10 1 13 47 69

Wichita 6 12 1 13 53 68

Rapid City 4 7 5 13 53 69

SSOOUUTTHHEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

SSoouutthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

Laredo 13 5 0 26 65 46

Texas 11 6 1 23 60 50

Rio G Valley 8 6 2 18 55 52

Corpus Christi 7 8 1 15 54 56

SSoouutthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

Odessa 12 5 2 26 81 56

Arizona 8 12 1 17 78 88

New Mexico 7 11 1 15 70 83

Amarillo 5 12 0 10 45 67

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Laredo 6, Rio Grande Valley 4

Bossier-Shreveport 1, Wichita 0

Corpus Christi 5, Arizona 4

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Tulsa at Odessa

Bossier-Shreveport at Texas

Arizona at Laredo

Corpus Christi at Rio Grande Valley

Mississippi at Rapid City

Amarillo at New Mexico

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Corpus Christi at Odessa

Laredo at Texas

Bossier-Shreveport at Wichita

Arizona at Rio Grande Valley

Oklahoma City at Tulsa

Rocky Mountain at Colorado

Mississippi at Rapid City

Amarillo at New Mexico

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

No games scheduled

MMoonnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

No games scheduled

TTuueessddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Amarillo at Odessa

Rio Grande Valley at Texas

Wichita at Oklahoma City

NNFFLLAAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

AAMMEERRIICCAANN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

EEaasstt

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

N.Y. Jets 8 4 0 .667 340 268

New England 7 5 0 .583 277 255

Miami 7 5 0 .583 253 257

Buffalo 6 6 0 .500 276 259

SSoouutthh

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Tennessee 11 1 0 .917 304 175

Indianapolis 8 4 0 .667 257 250

Houston 5 7 0 .417 282 310

Jacksonville 4 8 0 .333 241 270

NNoorrtthh

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Pittsburgh 9 3 0 .750 269 170

Baltimore 8 4 0 .667 292 190

Cleveland 4 8 0 .333 213 247

Cincinnati 1 10 1 .125 151 310

WWeesstt

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Denver 7 5 0 .583 292 319

San Diego 5 8 0 .385 324 281

Oakland 3 10 0 .231 179 299

Kansas City 2 10 0 .167 216 340

NNAATTIIOONNAALL CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

EEaasstt

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

N.Y. Giants 11 1 0 .917 352 206

Dallas 8 4 0 .667 299 260

Washington 7 5 0 .583 208 222

Philadelphia 6 5 1 .542 319 249

SSoouutthh

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Tampa Bay 9 3 0 .750 280 200

Carolina 9 3 0 .750 285 231

Atlanta 8 4 0 .667 298 242

New Orleans 6 6 0 .500 337 301

NNoorrtthh

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Minnesota 7 5 0 .583 287 260

Chicago 6 6 0 .500 281 268

Green Bay 5 7 0 .417 334 295

Detroit 0 12 0 .000 203 393

WWeesstt

WW LL TT PPcctt PPFF PPAA

Arizona 7 5 0 .583 338 313

San Francisco 4 8 0 .333 262 313

Seattle 2 10 0 .167 216 311

St. Louis 2 10 0 .167 159 360

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

San Diego 34, Oakland 7

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m.

Cleveland at Tennessee, 1 p.m.

Houston at Green Bay, 1 p.m.

Atlanta at New Orleans, 1 p.m.

Jacksonville at Chicago, 1 p.m.

Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.

Cincinnati at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

Miami vs. Buffalo at Toronto, 4:05 p.m.

New England at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Denver, 4:05 p.m.

Dallas at Pittsburgh, 4:15 p.m.

St. Louis at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.

Washington at Baltimore, 8:15 p.m.

MMoonnddaayy’’ss GGaammee

Tampa Bay at Carolina, 8:30 p.m.

TThhuurrssddaayy,, DDeecc.. 1111

New Orleans at Chicago, 8:15 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy,, DDeecc.. 1144

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.

Tennessee at Houston, 1 p.m.

Seattle at St. Louis, 1 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 1 p.m.

San Francisco at Miami, 1 p.m.

Detroit at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

San Diego at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

Washington at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

Green Bay at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.

Minnesota at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.

Denver at Carolina, 4:15 p.m.

New England at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 4:15 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 8:15 p.m.

MMoonnddaayy,, DDeecc.. 1155

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m.

NNBBAAEEAASSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

AAttllaannttiicc

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Boston 18 2 .900 —

New Jersey 9 8 .529 7½

Toronto 8 9 .471 8½

New York 8 10 .444 9

Philadelphia 8 11 .421 9½

SSoouutthheeaasstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Orlando 14 5 .737 —

Atlanta 11 6 .647 2

Miami 10 9 .526 4

Charlotte 7 11 .389 6½

Washington 3 13 .188 9½

CCeennttrraall

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Cleveland 15 3 .833 —

Detroit 11 6 .647 3½

Chicago 8 11 .421 7½

Milwaukee 8 12 .400 8

Indiana 7 11 .389 8

WWEESSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

SSoouutthhwweesstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Houston 12 7 .632 —

New Orleans 10 6 .625 ½

Dallas 10 8 .556 1½

San Antonio 10 8 .556 1½

Memphis 4 14 .222 7½

NNoorrtthhwweesstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Portland 14 6 .700 —

Denver 13 7 .650 1

Utah 12 8 .600 2

Minnesota 4 13 .235 8½

Oklahoma City 2 17 .105 11½

PPaacciiffiicc

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

L.A. Lakers 15 2 .882 —

Phoenix 11 9 .550 5½

Golden State 5 13 .278 10½

Sacramento 5 15 .250 11½

L.A. Clippers 3 15 .167 12½

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Dallas 112, Phoenix 97

San Antonio 108, Denver 91

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Oklahoma City at Orlando, 7 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Washington, 7 p.m.

New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Portland at Boston, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Detroit, 8 p.m.

Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.

Golden State at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Toronto at Utah, 10 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Cleveland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Memphis at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Washington at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Atlanta at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Golden State at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Utah at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Denver at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Detroit at New York, Noon

Portland at Toronto, 1 p.m.

Boston at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

NNHHLLAAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

EEAASSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

AAttllaannttiicc DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

N.Y. Rangers 18 9 2 38 77 73

Pittsburgh 15 6 4 34 82 68

Philadelphia 12 7 6 30 82 77

New Jersey 13 8 2 28 68 62

N.Y. Islanders 10 13 2 22 67 85

NNoorrtthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Boston 17 4 4 38 85 56

Montreal 15 6 4 34 78 67

Buffalo 11 11 3 25 66 73

Toronto 9 11 6 24 79 94

Ottawa 9 10 4 22 57 57

SSoouutthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Washington 14 9 3 31 85 82

Carolina 12 12 2 26 67 80

Florida 11 11 3 25 63 69

Tampa Bay 6 11 8 20 57 79

Atlanta 8 14 3 19 72 92

WWEESSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

CCeennttrraall DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Detroit 17 4 4 38 90 76

Nashville 13 10 2 28 73 79

Chicago 11 6 6 28 79 67

Columbus 11 11 3 25 73 78

St. Louis 10 11 2 22 63 71

NNoorrtthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Minnesota 15 8 1 31 71 53

Vancouver 14 10 2 30 80 68

Calgary 14 10 1 29 73 77

Colorado 12 13 0 24 66 74

Edmonton 11 11 2 24 66 72

PPaacciiffiicc DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

San Jose 22 3 1 45 100 61

Anaheim 14 10 3 31 77 76

Phoenix 12 11 2 26 65 68

Los Angeles 10 11 3 23 62 67

Dallas 9 12 4 22 70 92

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Montreal 6, N.Y. Rangers 2

Pittsburgh 5, Carolina 2

New Jersey 3, Philadelphia 2, OT

Washington 5, N.Y. Islanders 2

Florida 2, Buffalo 1

Detroit 6, Vancouver 5

Boston 3, Tampa Bay 1

Nashville 3, Colorado 2

Phoenix 6, Toronto 3

San Jose 3, Columbus 2

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Vancouver at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Calgary at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.

Colorado at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 2 p.m.

Chicago at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Boston at Florida, 7 p.m.

New Jersey at Montreal, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.

Washington at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Phoenix at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.

Edmonton at San Jose, 10 p.m.

Columbus at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Washington at Carolina, 5 p.m.

Phoenix at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Calgary at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

Vancouver at Colorado, 8 p.m.

NNCCAAAA FFoooottbbaallllTToopp 2255 SScchheedduullee

AAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

((SSuubbjjeecctt ttoo cchhaannggee))

SSaattuurrddaayy,, DDeecc.. 66

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Florida, SEC

championship at Atlanta, 4 p.m.

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 19 Missouri, Big

12 championship at Kansas City, Mo., 8 p.m.

No. 5 Southern Cal at UCLA, 4:30 p.m.

No. 13 Cincinnati at Hawaii, 11:30 p.m.

No. 18 Boston College vs. Virginia Tech,

ACC Championship at Tampa, Fla., 1 p.m.

No. 23 Pittsburgh at Connecticut, Noon

SScchheedduullee

((SSuubbjjeecctt ttoo cchhaannggee))

SSaattuurrddaayy,, DDeecc.. 66

EEAASSTT

Navy (7-4) vs. Army (3-8) at Philadelphia,

Noon

Pittsburgh (8-3) at Connecticut (7-4), Noon

Jacksonville (8-3) at Albany, N.Y. (8-3),

1:30 p.m.

South Florida (7-4) at West Virginia (7-4),

8 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

ACC championship, Boston College (9-3)

vs. Virginia Tech (8-4) at Tampa, Fla., 1 p.m.

SEC championship, Alabama (12-0) vs.

Florida (11-1) at Atlanta, 4 p.m.

W. Kentucky (2-9) at Fla. International (4-

7), 7 p.m.

Arkansas St. (6-5) at Troy (7-4), 7 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Big 12 championship at Missouri (9-3) vs.

Oklahoma (11-1), Kansas City, Mo., 8 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

C-USA championship, East Carolina (8-4)

at Tulsa (10-2), Noon

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Washington (0-11) at California (7-4), 3

p.m.

Southern Cal (10-1) at UCLA (4-7), 4:30

p.m.

Arizona St. (5-6) at Arizona (6-5), 8 p.m.

Cincinnati (10-2) at Hawaii (7-5), 11:30 p.m.

NNCCAAAA FFCCSS PPllaayyooffffss

QQuuaarrtteerrffiinnaallss

Richmond (10-3) at Appalachian State (11-

2), Noon

Weber State (10-3) at Montana (12-1), 2

p.m.

Villanova (10-2) at James Madison (11-1),

3:30 p.m.

New Hampshire (10-2) at Northern Iowa

(11-2), 7 p.m.

NNCCAAAA MMeenn’’ss BBaasskkeettbbaallll SScchheedduullee

AAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

FFrriiddaayy,, DDeecc.. 55

EEAASSTT

Canisius at Manhattan, 7 p.m.

Navy at Penn, 7 p.m.

Lehigh at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.

St. Peter’s at Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.

Iona at Marist, 7:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

ETSU at Mercer, 7:30 p.m.

Furman at South Carolina, 8 p.m.

William Carey at Alcorn St., 8:30 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Texas-Pan American at Drake, 8:05 p.m.

Bryant at Iowa, 8:35 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Texas A&M International at SMU, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Texas A&M, 9:30 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Denver vs. Texas-Arlington at Dahlberg

Arena, Missoula, Mont., 9 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy,, DDeecc.. 66

EEAASSTT

W. Michigan at Holy Cross, 12:30 p.m.

American U. at Georgetown, 1 p.m.

Brown at New Hampshire, 1 p.m.

Cleveland St. at West Virginia, 1 p.m.

Mount St. Mary’s, Md. at Cent. Connecti-

cut St., 2 p.m.

Harvard at Colgate, 2 p.m.

Rhode Island at Providence, 2 p.m.

Monmouth, N.J. at Quinnipiac, 2 p.m.

Binghamton at Rutgers, 2 p.m.

Yale at Wagner, 2 p.m.

Marshall at Boston U., 3 p.m.

Fla. International at Buffalo, 3 p.m.

La Salle at Hartford, 4 p.m.

Fairleigh Dickinson at Sacred Heart, 4

p.m.

George Mason at Drexel, 4:30 p.m.

Temple at Penn St., 6 p.m.

Howard vs. Hampton at Madison Square

Garden, 7 p.m.

Vermont at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Long Island U. at Robert Morris, 7 p.m.

Creighton at Saint Joseph’s, 7 p.m.

Albany, N.Y. at Siena, 7 p.m.

Princeton at St. Bonaventure, 7 p.m.

St. Francis, NY at St. Francis, Pa., 7 p.m.

Hofstra at Towson, 7 p.m.

Boston College at Massachusetts, 8:30

p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

N.C. State vs. Davidson at Time Warner

Cable Arena, Charlotte, N.C., Noon

Northeastern at James Madison, 12:05

p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn, 2 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m.

Indiana St. at Louisville, 2 p.m.

N.J. Tech at Md.-Eastern Shore, 2 p.m.

Gardner-Webb at Liberty, 3 p.m.

Alabama St. at Mississippi St., 3 p.m.

Mississippi at New Orleans, 3 p.m.

W. Kentucky at Tulane, 3 p.m.

Coll. of Charleston at UNC Greensboro, 3

p.m.

Tougaloo at Alcorn St., 3:05 p.m.

Lipscomb at Jacksonville, 3:15 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman at Florida A&M, 4 p.m.

Coppin St. at Morgan St., 4 p.m.

Norfolk St. at N. Carolina A&T, 4 p.m.

Southern U. at Nicholls St., 4 p.m.

Delaware at Old Dominion, 4 p.m.

Southern, NO at SE Louisiana, 4 p.m.

Murray St. at Morehead St., 4:15 p.m.

Belmont at North Florida, 4:15 p.m.

Lamar vs. Ohio at Freedom Hall,

Louisville, Ky., 4:30 p.m.

VMI at UNC Asheville, 4:30 p.m.

Miami at Kentucky, 5:30 p.m.

Louisiana-Lafayette at Alabama, 7 p.m.

Tenn.-Martin at E. Kentucky, 7 p.m.

Limestone at East Carolina, 7 p.m.

The Citadel at Elon, 7 p.m.

Presbyterian at High Point, 7 p.m.

Winthrop at Radford, 7 p.m.

Delaware St. at Richmond, 7 p.m.

South Florida at UCF, 7 p.m.

Georgia St. at UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m.

Va. Commonwealth at William & Mary, 7

p.m.

Appalachian St. at Wofford, 7 p.m.

Samford at Georgia Southern, 7:30 p.m.

Winston-Salem at S. Carolina St., 7:30 p.m.

Bucknell at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.

Tuskegee at Alabama A&M, 8:30 p.m.

Jacksonville St. at Tennessee Tech, 8:30

p.m.

Grambling St. at Louisiana Tech, 9 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

UAB at Cincinnati, Noon

Georgia vs. Illinois at the United Center,

Noon

Gonzaga vs. Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadi-

um, Indianapolis, 1:30 p.m.

Oregon St. at Iowa St., 2 p.m.

Jackson St. at Kansas, 2 p.m.

Cornell at Minnesota, 2 p.m.

Charlotte at S. Illinois, 2:05 p.m.

Northwestern St. at Miami (Ohio), 3 p.m.

Chicago St. at N. Illinois, 3 p.m.

Wright St. at Wis.-Milwaukee, 3 p.m.

Duke at Michigan, 3:30 p.m.

DePaul at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m.

Ohio St. vs. Notre Dame at Lucas Oil Sta-

dium, Indianapolis, 4 p.m.

N.C. Central at Drake, 4:05 p.m.

North Dakota at N. Iowa, 4:05 p.m.

Dayton at Akron, 7 p.m.

W. Illinois at IUPUI, 7 p.m.

W. Carolina at Kent St., 7 p.m.

Butler at Youngstown St., 7:05 p.m.

Austin Peay at E. Illinois, 8 p.m.

Loyola of Chicago at Ill.-Chicago, 8 p.m.

Centenary at N. Dakota St., 8 p.m.

Ark.-Pine Bluff at Purdue, 8 p.m.

Savannah St. at Saint Louis, 8 p.m.

Detroit at Wis.-Green Bay, 8 p.m.

Ball St. at Evansville, 8:05 p.m.

Bowling Green at Illinois St., 8:05 p.m.

Arkansas St. at Missouri St., 8:05 p.m.

IPFW at UMKC, 8:05 p.m.

Oral Roberts at S. Dakota St., 8:30 p.m.

Tennessee St. at SE Missouri, 8:45 p.m.

Wisconsin at Marquette, 9:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Texas St. at Rice, 4 p.m.

Texas Wesleyan at Stephen F.Austin, 7

p.m.

New Mexico St. at North Texas, 8 p.m.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at TCU, 8 p.m.

Sam Houston St. at UTEP, 9:05 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Idaho at Portland, 5 p.m.

Southern Miss. at New Mexico, 6 p.m.

Utah St. at BYU, 7 p.m.

UC Irvine at Pepperdine, 8 p.m.

Utah Valley St. at N. Arizona, 8:35 p.m.

Texas-Arlington at Montana, 9 p.m.

Colorado St. at Boise St., 9:05 p.m.

Cent. Michigan at Cal St.-Fullerton, 9:05

p.m.

Utah at Idaho St., 9:05 p.m.

Air Force at N. Colorado, 9:05 p.m.

Texas Southern at Washington, 9:30 p.m.

Wyoming at Loyola Marymount, 10 p.m.

San Diego at San Diego St., 10 p.m.

Long Beach St. at San Francisco, 10 p.m.

Sacramento St. at Santa Clara, 10 p.m.

CS Bakersfield at UC Davis, 10 p.m.

S. Utah at UC Riverside, 10 p.m.

Montana St. at E. Washington, 10:05 p.m.

Seattle at Portland St., 10:05 p.m.

Fresno St. at Pacific, 10:30 p.m.

UNLV at Nevada, 10:35 p.m.

Baylor at Washington St., 11:30 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy,, DDeecc.. 77

EEAASSTT

Niagara at Loyola, Md., Noon

Manhattan at Rider, 2 p.m.

Canisius at St. Peter’s, 2 p.m.

Mount Ida at Stony Brook, 2 p.m.

Iona at Fairfield, 3:30 p.m.

Virginia Tech vs. Navy at the Verizon

Center, 5 p.m.

George Washington vs. Maryland at the

Verizon Center, 7:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Liberty at Clemson, 3 p.m.

Houston Baptist at South Alabama, 3:05

p.m.

MVSU at Kentucky, 4 p.m.

Ohio at Louisville, 4 p.m.

SIU-Edwardsville at Middle Tennessee, 5

p.m.

Florida at Florida St., 5:30 p.m.

Indiana St. vs. Lamar at Freedom Hall,

Louisville, Ky., 6:30 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

N.C. Central vs. Texas-Pan American at

the Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa, Noon

Toledo at Oakland, Mich., 1 p.m.

California at Missouri, 2 p.m.

Bradley at Michigan St., 4 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Oklahoma at Tulsa, 4:05 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Nebraska at Arizona St., 2 p.m.

Kansas St. at Oregon, 8:30 p.m.

CS Northridge at UCLA, 10:30 p.m.

MMoonnddaayy,, DDeecc.. 88

EEAASSTT

Army at Bryant, 7 p.m.

Lafayette at Fordham, 7 p.m.

Albany, N.Y. at Lehigh, 7 p.m.

Colgate at Maine, 7 p.m.

Savannah St. at Georgetown, 7:30 p.m.

Fairleigh Dickinson at Monmouth, N.J.,

7:30 p.m.

N.J. Tech at St. John’s, 7:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Indiana St. vs. Ohio at Freedom Hall,

Louisville, Ky., 4:30 p.m.

Lamar at Louisville, 7 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Wayne, Mich. at E. Michigan, 7 p.m.

Hawaii at Illinois, 8 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Texas A&M International at Texas A&M-

Corpus Christi, 8 p.m.

Ark.-Little Rock at Oral Roberts, 8:05 p.m.

Wichita St. at TCU, 9 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

San Jose St. at San Diego, 10 p.m.

TTuueessddaayy,, DDeecc.. 99

EEAASSTT

Hartford at Brown, 7 p.m.

Binghamton at Bucknell, 7 p.m.

Navy at Mount St. Mary’s, Md., 7 p.m.

New Hampshire at Rhode Island, 7 p.m.

Marist at Siena, 7 p.m.

Columbia at St. Francis, NY, 7 p.m.

Davidson vs. West Virginia at Madison

Square Garden, 7 p.m.

Cal Baptist at Seton Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Saint Joseph’s at Towson, 7:30 p.m.

Texas vs. Villanova at Madison Square

Garden, 9 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Covenant at E. Kentucky, 7 p.m.

Virginia Tech at Georgia, 7 p.m.

Delaware at Hampton, 7 p.m.

Campbell at VMI, 7 p.m.

SIU-Edwardsville at Lipscomb, 8 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Purdue at Ball St., 7 p.m.

N. Iowa at Iowa, 7 p.m.

Toledo at Wright St., 7 p.m.

Idaho St. at Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.

Drake at Iowa St., 9 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Texas Coll. at Sam Houston St., 8 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Cal St.-Fullerton at Montana St., 9:05 p.m.

San Francisco at Pacific, 10 p.m.

Denver at CS Northridge, 10:05 p.m.

Sonoma St. at Nevada, 10:05 p.m.

Lewis & Clark at Portland St., 10:05 p.m.

Utah Valley St. at Sacramento St., 10:05

p.m.

WWeeddnneessddaayy,, DDeecc.. 1100

EEAASSTT

Coppin St. at Loyola, Md., 6 p.m.

Bryant at Boston College, 7 p.m.

Yale at Boston U., 7 p.m.

Northeastern at Harvard, 7 p.m.

Iona at Long Island U., 7 p.m.

Holy Cross at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.

St. Peter’s at N.J. Tech, 7 p.m.

Army at Penn St., 7 p.m.

Rutgers at Princeton, 7 p.m.

Monmouth, N.J. at Rider, 7 p.m.

Hofstra at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.

Cent. Connecticut St. at UMBC, 7:05 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Limestone at High Point, 7 p.m.

Charlotte at Mississippi St., 7 p.m.

Duquesne at Radford, 7 p.m.

Huston-Tillotson at Nicholls St., 7:30 p.m.

Idaho at S. Carolina St., 7:30 p.m.

Florida Gulf Coast at Florida, 8 p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana Tech, 8

p.m.

Louisiana College vs. McNeese St. at the

Lake Charles (La.) Civic Center, 8 p.m.

Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Ohio at Xavier, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago St. at Illinois, 8 p.m.

TCU at Indiana, 8 p.m.

SE Missouri at W. Illinois, 8 p.m.

Butler at Bradley, 8:05 p.m.

Dayton at Creighton, 8:05 p.m.

E. Illinois at Evansville, 8:05 p.m.

Morgan St. at DePaul, 8:30 p.m.

S. Dakota St. at Minnesota, 9 p.m.

IPFW at Valparaiso, 9 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Maine at Oklahoma, 8 p.m.

N.C. Central at Arkansas, 8:05 p.m.

Missouri St. at Tulsa, 8:05 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

California at Utah, 8 p.m.

San Diego St. at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Boise St. at BYU, 10 p.m.

Colorado St. at Colorado, 10 p.m.

CS Bakersfield at Fresno St., 10 p.m.

New Mexico at San Diego, 10 p.m.

Gonzaga at Washington St., 10 p.m.

NNCCAAAA WWoommeenn’’ss BBaasskkeettbbaallllSScchheedduullee

AAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

FFrriiddaayy,, DDeecc.. 55

EEAASSTT

Siena at Canisius, Noon

Navy at Penn, 3 p.m.

Army at Drexel, 4 p.m.

Loyola, Md. at Manhattan, 5 p.m.

New Hampshire at Colgate, 6 p.m.

Long Island U. at Brown, 7 p.m.

N.J. Tech at Lafayette, 7 p.m.

Bryant at Lehigh, 7 p.m.

Marist at Niagara, 7 p.m.

Iona at Rider, 7 p.m.

Fairfield at St. Peter’s, 7 p.m.

James Madison at Georgetown, 8 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

ETSU at Mercer, 5 p.m.

Jackson St. vs. Tulane at Lakefront Are-

na, New Orleans, 5:30 p.m.

Alabama St. at Georgia St., 6 p.m.

Sam Houston St. at Auburn, 7 p.m.

Georgia at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m.

Indiana at Miami, 7 p.m.

S. Virginia at Radford, 7 p.m.

High Point at South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Fla. International at South Florida, 7 p.m.

Indiana St. at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Louisiana-Lafayette at Nicholls St., 8 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

S. Illinois at DePaul, 1 p.m.

N.C. State at Michigan, 6:30 p.m.

Evansville at Ball St., 7 p.m.

Loyola of Chicago at SIU-Edwardsville, 7

p.m.

Akron at Xavier, 7 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Texas Southern at Houston, 8 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Wright St. vs. BYU at the Cannon Center,

Laie, Hawaii, 6 p.m.

Utah Valley vs. Southern Cal at the Can-

non Center, Laie, Hawaii, 9 p.m.

Boise St. at Montana St., 9:05 p.m.

Long Beach St. at Washington St., 10 p.m.

Seattle at Portland St., 10:05 p.m.

San Diego at BYU-Hawaii, Mid

TTOOUURRNNAAMMEENNTTSS

AAiirr FFoorrccee CCllaassssiicc

AAtt CCoolloorraaddoo SSpprriinnggss,, CCoolloo..

FFiirrsstt RRoouunndd

N.C. Central at Air Force, 7 p.m.

Miami (Ohio) vs. Texas-Pan American,

9:30 p.m.

CCoommmmeerrccee BBaannkk WWiillddccaatt CCllaassssiicc

AAtt MMaannhhaattttaann,, KKaann..

FFiirrsstt RRoouunndd

MVSU vs. Arkansas, 5 p.m.

Alcorn St. at Kansas St., 7 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy,, DDeecc.. 66

EEAASSTT

Dayton at Penn St., Noon

Monmouth, N.J. at Quinnipiac, Noon

Hofstra at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

Wofford at Fordham, 1 p.m.

Binghamton at La Salle, 1 p.m.

Delaware St. at Syracuse, 1 p.m.

Holy Cross at Vermont, 1 p.m.

Saint Joseph’s at Hartford, 2 p.m.

Harvard at Providence, 2 p.m.

Fairleigh Dickinson at Sacred Heart, 2

p.m.

Marshall at Seton Hall, 2 p.m.

Northeastern at Stony Brook, 2 p.m.

Mount St. Mary’s, Md. at Cent. Connecticu

St., 4 p.m.

Massachusetts vs. Long Island U. at the

Pizzitola Center, Providence, R.I., 4 p.m.

St. Francis, N.Y. at St. Francis, Pa., 4

p.m.

Denver at Columbia, 7 p.m.

Towson at UMBC, 7 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Coll. of Charleston at UNC Greensboro,

Noon

Lipscomb at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.

Davidson at Appalachian St., 2 p.m.

Georgia Southern at Elon, 2 p.m.

Furman at Kentucky, 2 p.m.

Murray St. at Morehead St., 2 p.m.

Bowie St. at Morgan St., 2 p.m.

Norfolk St. at N. Carolina A&T, 2 p.m.

Belmont at North Florida, 2 p.m.

Charlotte at UNC Asheville, 2 p.m.

East Carolina at Virginia, 2 p.m.

Coppin St. at Wake Forest, 2 p.m.

South Alabama at Southern U., 3 p.m.

Tenn.-Martin at E. Kentucky, 4 p.m.

William & Mary at Richmond, 4 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman at Florida A&M, 5 p.m.

William Carey at Southern Miss., 5 p.m.

Indiana St. at Tulane, 5 p.m.

Winston-Salem at S. Carolina St., 5:30 p.m.

Howard at Hampton, 6 p.m.

Jacksonville St. at Tennessee Tech, 6:30

p.m.

Alabama A&M at Chattanooga, 7 p.m.

Ohio at Clemson, 7 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Grambling St., 7 p.m.

Arizona at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.

Jackson St. vs. New Orleans at Fogelman

Arena, New Orleans, 7 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Ohio St. at Nebraska, 1 p.m.

Wis.-Green Bay at N. Iowa, 1:05 p.m.

Youngstown St. at Bowling Green, 2 p.m.

Coastal Carolina at Butler, 2 p.m.

UAB at Cent. Michigan, 2 p.m.

North Dakota at Toledo, 2 p.m.

Bradley at Illinois, 2:30 p.m.

Kent St. at Cleveland St., 3 p.m.

Centenary at N. Dakota St., 3 p.m.

E. Michigan at Illinois St., 3:05 p.m.

Austin Peay at E. Illinois, 4 p.m.

W. Illinois at IUPUI, 4:30 p.m.

IPFW at UMKC, 5 p.m.

W. Michigan at Ill.-Chicago, 5:30 p.m.

Oral Roberts at S. Dakota St., 6 p.m.

Tennessee St. at SE Missouri, 6:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Louisiana-Monroe at Lamar, 3 p.m.

Huston-Tillotson at Texas-San Antonio, 3

p.m.

Cent. Arkansas at Tulsa, 3 p.m.

Prairie View at Houston Baptist, 3:05 p.m.

Valparaiso at North Texas, 5:30 p.m.

Texas-Arlington at Rice, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma St. at Ark.-Little Rock, 8 p.m.

St. John’s at Baylor, 8 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

E. Washington at Utah St., 1 p.m.

N. Colorado at Colorado St., 4 p.m.

Drake at Weber St., 4 p.m.

Wyoming at Idaho St., 4:05 p.m.

UNLV at Loyola Marymount, 5 p.m.

UC Davis at Saint Mary’s, Calif., 5 p.m.

Utah Valley vs. San Diego at the Cannon

Center, Laie, Hawaii, 5 p.m.

Oakland, Mich. at S. Utah, 7 p.m.

Vanderbilt at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.

Fresno St. at Pacific, 8 p.m.

Southern Cal vs. BYU at the Cannon Cen-

ter, Laie, Hawaii, 9 p.m.

Santa Clara at CS Bakersfield, 10 p.m.

Wright St. at BYU-Hawaii, Mid

TTrraannssaaccttiioonnssBBAASSEEBBAALLLL

AAmmeerriiccaann LLeeaagguuee

CLEVELAND INDIANS—Signed RHP

Tomo Ohka to a minor league contract.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS—Agreed to

terms with RHP Pil Joon Jang on a minor

league contract.

FFOOOOTTBBAALLLL

NNaattiioonnaall FFoooottbbaallll LLeeaagguuee

NFL—The four-game suspensions of New

Orleans DE Charles Grant, New Orleans RB

Deuce McAllister, New Orleans DE Will

Smith, Minnesota DT Kevin Williams and

Minnesota DT Pat Williams for violating the

league’s anti-doping policy, have been

blocked U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson.

Suspended Tennessee DT Kevin Vickerson

for four games for violating the league’s pol-

icy on anabolic steroids and related sub-

stances. Fined Carolina DE Julius Pepper

$10,000 for a late hit on Green Bay quarter-

back Aaron Rodgers on Nov. 30; Minnesota

DE Jared Allen $10,000 for unsportsmanlike

conduct when he used the football as a prop in

a Nov. 30 game against Chicago; Tennessee

OT David Stewart $7,500 for unnecessary

roughness on a running play in a Nov. 27

game at Detroit.

DALLAS COWBOYS—Activated RB Alon-

zo Coleman from their practice squad. Cut CB

Quincy Butler.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS—Signed LB

Junior Seau. Placed LB Adalius Thomas on in-

jured reserve.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS—Placed G Mike

Wahle on injured reserve. Signed C Steve

McKinney.

HHOOCCKKEEYY

NNHHLL

NHL—Suspended Dallas C Sean Avery for

six games for making crude comment re-

garding his ex-girlfriends dating other hockey

players. Avery has served two games of the

suspension.

COLORADO AVALANCHE—Recalled F

Chris Stewart from Lake Erie (AHL).

NEW JERSEY DEVILS—Placed F Barry

Tallackson on waivers.

AAHHLL

AHL—Suspended Springfield C Gilbert

Brule for four (4) games as a result of his ac-

tions in a Dec. 3 game at Lowell.

ALBANY RIVER RATS—Announced D

Casey Borer and D Tim Conboy have been re-

called by Carolina (NHL), Announced F Pat

Dwyer and D Josef Melichar have been as-

signed to the team by Carolina. Signed LW

Patrick Bordeleau.

PROVIDENCE BRUINS—Announced LW

Ned Lukacevic has been reassigned to the

team from Reading (ECHL).

SYRACUSE CRUNCH—Announced D

Clay Wilson was recalled by Columbus (NHL).

EECCHHLL

READING ROYALS—Named Larry

Courville assistant coach.

CCOOLLLLEEGGEE

OKLAHOMA STATE—Agreed to terms

with football coach Mike Gundy on a seven-

year contract extension.

RICHMOND—Announced the resignation

of men’s soccer coach Jeff Gettler.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2BZscores SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

SPORT SHORTSHoop Shots for Tots basketball tournament

There will be a 5-on-5 Hoop Shots for Tots bas-ketball tournament at Hachar Rec Center on Satur-day and Sunday.

The tournament will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the feefor entry is one toy per participant.

Participants must be 8 years or older and a mem-ber of any rec center.

All proceeds will go to families in the Laredocommunity.

Kickoff Golf Clinic for LJGAOn Saturday, Dec. 13, is the Kickoff Golf Clinic for

The Laredo Junior Golf Association.The Laredo Jr. Golf Association (LJGA) was cre-

ated to provide access to any child willing to learn thegame of golf.

Mr. Bryan Gathright will host the clinic. Bryan isone of the 100 golf instructors in the nation andPresident of Southern Golf Properties.

This marks the first time a nationally recognizedgolf instructor visits Laredo for instruction. He workswith many professional golfers and should provide agreat clinic.

For more information on the clinic, please callRodolfo Gonzalez, 956-726-2019.

TAMIU winter baseball campsTAMIU baseball will host hitting camps this Sat-

urday and Sunday and pitchers and catcher camps onDec. 13 and 14.

The Dec. 6 hitting camp will be for ages 13 -18 andthe Dec. 7 camp for ages 7-12. The Dec. 13 pitchersand catchers camp will be for ages 13-18 and theDec. 14 camp for ages 7-12. All camps will be held atthe TAMIU Baseball Field with an entry fee of $75 perplayer.

All camps will be directed by head coach ChadPorter and his assistant coaches, along with currentplayers. Instruction will be provided emphasizingthe fundamental skills of baseball. Participants willhave the opportunity to put their skills into actionwhile being evaluated by the coaching staff.

For more information call Coach Porter at 326-3004 during normal business hours or to register vis-it the baseball page at www.godustdevils.com.

Raul Serna, senior shooting guard Meliton Trejo,senior small forward Rene Garcia, senior power for-ward Arlo De Los Santos and sophomore center LuisJaime Gonzalez.

Senior Jerry Buentello (power forward and cen-ter) and sophomore Andrew Magee (shooting guardand power forward) are expected to come back frominjuries to reinforce the team.

Coming off a tumultuous year, the Hawks’ newcoach is eager to instill a sense of pride in his team.

The former Hawks girls track coach and Zapataalumnus knew exactly what path he wanted to takeas he prepared for the season.

“First thing was getting the kids to learn team-work and learn discipline, to get used to not being soselfish and to be a close knit group,” Villarreal said.

The trek back won’t be easy, and the preseasonschedule wasn’t put together by cautious hands.

Villarreal’s plan is to throw his kids into the firewith games against Martin, Roma and Valleyview be-fore closing it out against Hebbronville (their onlywin of the season).

“Hecky Noyola has done a good job with that(Martin) team, and Roma is state-ranked, so we want-ed to see what we had,” Villarreal said.

The Hawks can begin somewhat anew, as they be-gin play in their new district in 32-2A. They get tobump heads against the defending champion RioHondo Bobcats, Hidalgo Pirates, La Feria Lions, PortIsabel Tarpons, Raymondville BearKats, Lyford Bull-dogs and Progreso Red Ants.

If the Hawks are to make any noise, the catalystwill be their defense.

“The best offense is a good defense,” Villarrealsaid.

“We’re trying to get the fans back in the gym,” headded.

Plenty of good spots are available.

HOOPS | Continued from Page 1A

HAWKS | Continued from Page 1A

BIG 12 | Continued from Page 1A

“We are really excited to attend the Alice tourna-ment. There will be very good competition, and it willprepare the team for the district season,” Guerra said.

The Lady Hawks open the tournament with ElCampo today.

Guerra has seen the steady improvement in histeam after every game.

“We have been improving as the season goes on.The only thing that we play for is to make sure we hitdistrict with full force,” Guerra said.

In 12 days, they will have an opportunity to put alltheir basketball knowledge to the test as they opendistrict against Rio Hondo on the road.

Missouri has five first-teamers, as did Texas Tech. Only three players were unanimous choices: Texas

Tech receiver Michael Crabtree, Oklahoma State run-ning back Kendall Hunter and Texas defensive line-man Brian Orakpo, who also was the defensive play-er of the year. This was Crabtree’s second straightseason as a unanimous pick.

Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin was a first-teamer attwo spots, receiver and all-purpose, which accountsfor his elusiveness as a returner. He was a unanimousfirst-teamer at all-purpose last season. His team-mates Sean Weatherspoon, a linebacker, and kickerJeff Wolfert are returning first-teamers. Weather-spoon is the only defensive player back from lastyear’s first team.

Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado didn’t haveany first-teamers. Just as notable, Oklahoma Stateand Baylor each had three; that’s two more thanTexas, which placed only Orakpo on the first team.Kansas had two picks, while Nebraska and TexasA&M each had one.

There was one tweak to this year’s balloting: Threefirst-team receivers and only one running back, in-stead of two of each. The change was made to better

four-game streak, and the NFL single-season record of 22½ sacks set byMichael Strahan in 2001 isn’t out ofreach. Even though Ware knows it “ispossible” he would rather not discussthat right now.

“You’ve got to keep it out of yourmind. It’s all really just being consis-tent,” Ware said. “That’s what I toldmyself at the beginning of the season.I’ve been doing really well with thatphilosophy, so just going to keep onrolling.”

Ware’s sacks streak that was thelongest in the NFL in 15 years isn’teven recognized as a Cowboys record.Harvey Martin had sacks in 11 consec-

utive games from 1976-77 before theNFL recognized sacks as an officialstat, and has the single-season teamrecord with 23 in 1977.

Still, the last Cowboy to have moresacks in a season than Ware was Hallof Fame defensive tackle Randy Whitewith 16 in 1978. And Ware, in hisfourth season, already has four of thetop six single-season totals for line-backers in team history, and is only thefourth player in team history withthree consecutive 10-sack seasons.

Teammates insist, however, thatWare is even better against the runthan he is rushing quarterbacks andcreating havoc in the passing game.

“That’s telling you something,”Thomas said.

“I love when guys try to run,” saidWare, whose beastly on-field persona isfar from the soft-spoken, often-smilingperson he really is. “I can really showmy aggression toward them when theytry to crack-block down on me. ... Youreally can just overpower guys.”

Ware hadn’t even played a gamefor the Cowboys as a rookie in 2005 be-fore former coach Bill Parcells wascomparing the first-round pick to an-other player he coached, Hall of Famelinebacker Lawrence Taylor.

Parcells drafted Ware 11th overall,taking the defensive end from Troy in-

stead of Shawne Merriman, who wasselected by San Diego with the verynext pick. Ware had to learn the nu-ances of the 3-4 defense and adapt tothe hybrid position that is part defen-sive end and part linebacker.

“It’s all about wanting to do it andjust working hard,” Ware said. “That’swhat I do at the end of the day. I knewI was going to be able to convert over tolinebacker, but how successful can yoube? It goes as sort of a goal or a step-pingstone that I had to overcome. Now,I’m very comfortable with what I do.”

And eventually Parcells may becomparing players to Ware instead ofTaylor.

WARE | Continued from Page 1A

Dallas will be challenged not only by a Pittsburghdefense that leads the league in every major catego-ry — no defense has been so dominant statisticallysince the 1991 Eagles — but its own discouraging runof Decembers.

The Cowboys are 17-28 in December games datingto their last playoff victory 12 years ago. No wonderthey probably won’t like this frigid Pittsburgh-in-De-cember forecast: snow showers and a gametime tem-perature of 26.

To Tomlin, that record — and the Cowboys’ 8-4season mark — matter not a bit.

“They’re much better than an 8-4 team,’’ Tomlinsaid. “They’re a different team when their quarter-back (Tony Romo) is playing.’’

Romo is 3-0 with six touchdown passes and one in-terception since returning from a broken right littlefinger, leading an offense that has scored 34-pluspoints and gained more than 400 yards in its last twogames.

Romo’s challenge: The Steelers’ No. 1-ranked de-fense hasn’t allowed a team — much less a passer —

to gain 300 yards. Pittsburgh gives up 166.8 yards pergame passing, far less than the Cowboys offense’s av-erage of 244 yards through the air.

“I think they’re fantastic,’’ said Romo, a notedrisk-taker with a league-high 103.2 passer ratingwho probably can’t afford many mistakes againstthis defense. “It’s going to be an incredible challengefor us to move the ball. They’re every bit as good aspeople say. When you look at it, you just don’t knowhow you are going to move the ball against theseguys.’’

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, an assistant 30years ago under father Bum when the Oilers twicelost to Pittsburgh in AFC championship games, saidthis defense compares favorably to that famed SteelCurtain.

While cold weather gear will be necessary, per-haps this will become known as the pajama game.

To keep his players’ legs fresh as the seasonwinds down, Phillips sent some of his veterans homeearly from practice Wednesday. Cornerback Adam“Pacman’’ Jones, back from a six-game suspension,

took advantage of the casual atmosphere by practic-ing in a pair of Homer Simpson pajama pants.

The Steelers never go about their work so ca-sually, with safety Ryan Clark saying this game il-lustrates the difference between Hollywood’s team(Dallas) and the heartland’s team (Pittsburgh).

“They have a glamour element,’’ Clark said.“(Steelers chairman) Dan Rooney, you never seenhim in front of the cameras. And then Jerry Jones,he loves it. He knows how to put his team in theforefront and he knows how to make his teamHollywood.’’

Roethlisberger is about as big as it gets as acelebrity in Pittsburgh, but he can’t compare to Romoand his tabloid-filling romance with singer JessicaSimpson.

“I don’t mean this to sound rude, but he’s ask-ing for it (the attention),’’ said Roethlisberger, whosebest-known fling was with golfer Natalie Gulbis.“He’s dating high profile, he’s doing all the stuff thathe wants to do. That’s the life he chooses to live off thefootball field and that’s his choice.’’

KICKOFF | Continued from Page 1A

Hiring BACKHOE OPERATOR.Must have a minimum of 1 yearexperience with oil field workand must have a CDL. Apply in person at 3905 Rotary Dr.

Also hiring TIRE MAN withexperience in 18 wheeler tires.Please apply in person.

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LEASE PROGRAM-NO CREDIT CHECKNO MONEY DOWN

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Distributor, Specialtyper foods. Greatproducts. $2,500

inventory guaranteed.Spectrum Pet Care

1-800-356-2832

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198‘06 Dodge Dakota, 16K Miles, Club Cab, 6 cyl, auto. $8500

OBO (956) 235-0701

‘99 Grand Caravan, 5 doors, Excellent Cond.$3200 Call 791-3607Chevy Trailblazer ‘06, 3rd.seat, rear a/c, 4x4, under

warranty, $14,900 Call:(956)220-2937

Cummins 3.9 Diesel & GasStep Vans 7 to Choose

From. $4,000 and up. Call722-3840 or 763-4840

Dodge Durango ‘99, $5,300 obo, super clean, new tires,

108k mi. Call:(956)326-9997;285-9595

Escape ‘03 Buenas Cond. 96mil. $4500 Inf:

727-6071Ford Explorer ‘99, 4dr.,6cyl., blue title, $2,600.

Call:(956)333-5451Hunter’s Special! ‘01 Chev. Sil-

verado 1500 Z71, 4x4, 1 owner, exc. cond., A/C, brush

guard, head ache rack, $7,995, OBO 744-1414

Tundra ‘03 4x4,Buenas Cond.

56Kmil., $8500 OMOInf: 401-2344

CARS FOR SALE 2001998 Cadillac SLS, 4d sedan,

leather seats, loaded, like new,Call:(956)724-4667 or

740-8010‘04 GrandPrix GT special edi-

tion, 56K miles, 6 cyl. good condition, $6700 OBO Call

242-3202 or 413 Clark‘05 Nissan Sentra, 70k miles, good condition, A/C, $5900

OBO. Call 242-3202

‘97 Mustang Cobra, clean title $7500 negotiable.

956-489-1457Acura 2.5TL ‘98, lthr. int., sun-

roof, a/c, all pwr., blue title, new tires, excellent conditions, low mi., $4,500. Call(956)237-6017

Cadillac Sedan Deville ‘92, $1,000 obo. Needs work.

Call:(956)220-2896.

CHRYSLER 300Limited ‘05, fullyloaded, $14,750(956)229-2445

Classic ‘66 Mustang 289, great interior, auto, Must Sell! $5,800

obo. (956)726-4589 ad#83007369, jose\66.

Honda Accord ‘93, low milage, good running condition, 4

cilinders, economic. $2,300.Call:727-2635

Honda Accord LX ‘97, all pwr., new tires, a/c, excellent cond.

blue title, 1 owner, $4,200.Call:(956)237-6017

Honda Civic ‘93, auto, a/c, 86k mi., 4dr., good tires. 2nd owner

$3,000. 763-4734

Mazda 626 ‘00, 4cyl.,good condition

$1,600Call: (956)286-3592

Pontiac Firebird ‘99, a/c, auto, 6 cyl., all pwr., good condition, $2,950 obo. Call(956)324-6783

SPORTING GOODS 142Mini max 45 ACP, 6+1, Colt look alike, 3 in. barrel $375

Call:(956)235-3441.Ruger MK3, bull barrell,

SIGP226, 357 SIG, stainless, night sight, $300 & up.

235-3841

TRANSPORTATION

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS194Selling parts for 1994 4x4

Toyota.$300 & down Call:(956)635-7080

New Parts for 2003 F-250, rear bumper, tow bar, mirrors. $500

obo. Call:(956)206-1640Selling parts for 1994 4x4

Toyota.$300 & down Call:(956)635-7080

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198

‘00 Chevy S-10 Ext. Cab 4x4, 84Kmil., Lifted, larger tires, bedliner, brush guard, Hi-lift, $6500 Call 237-9587

‘05 Silverado Crew Cab, Good Cond.

$9700 Call 645-7992‘91 Dodge Truck (old CPL Truck) Good Cond., $2500

OBO Call 635-8428‘98 Ford F-150, cab 1/2,

auto, v8, work truck.$2,800 (956) 635-4743

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

Frigidaire washer & dryer, white, $350.

Call:(956)727-3788

Full Country Club Membership for sale. $3,950. Call 285-1104.

Pride of the Brush by PanchoFarias, limited edition, color

print 11x14, framed $49, Call 645-0840.

SERENATAS$30 for 3 songs, byguitarist singer. Also

hourly.(956)728-8481.Seven drawer executive style

desk, solid wood. $75 Call:(956)236-4092.

Sofa & Loveseat- Mocha shades $850 OBO

Call 754-3097Sofa/full single bunk bed, black

metal tubing, $100 Call:(956)236-4092.

Sofa, love seat, cocktail & end tables. Like new! $599 obo.

Call:(956)251-5766

Vendo TV RCA 32” Digital $135 Inf. 333-5451radio 135*829*2784

Washer & Dryer, excellent condition, white color, $350

pair. Call:(956)324-8903

MUSICAL INSTRU-MENTS 138

GibsonBalwinElectricGuitar

SignatureSeries, darkcherry wine

color,new in open

box. $380 call956-324-9291HELP WANTED 122

MISCELLANEOUS

GARAGE SALES 1342Family Sale! 3020 Chestnut St. Sat.Only 8-2, Clothes, toys,

elect, baby clothes & misc.Big Sale! Saturday 622 Allende 8am-5pm. Lots of housewares,

home decor, Xmas decor.Estate Sale, Dec. 5 & 6, 317 E.Montgomery, 8am-4pm, furni-

ture, housewares, clothing, etc.Garage Sale at 2619 Okane

Saturday December 6th, 8am-12pm. No Early Birds!MEGA Sale, 2604 Laredo,Wed, Thurs & Fri ., 8a-5p.

Clothes, magazines, books, toys, shoes & household items.Multi family garage sale. Sat & Sun 8am-1pm both days. No Early Birds! 810 Topaz Trail

(tiara Subdivision) across from Divine Mercy Church.

Saturday Only! 8am-12noon 237 Middle Stone Dr.

(Dominion Del Mar) Household items, clothes & ladies shoes

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

“MARIACHI POPULAR”.All Occasions. Starting @

$400 Hector Caballero 236-8905

1 full, 2 twin bed. Headboard frame & mattress incl $50 OBO OBO Call 286-8134 After 5pm

Apple IPhone 8GB Excel-lent condition $225. Call 693-3927 or 724-3683

Barro para techo. $250 Inf:(956)726-4580

For sale 8 liner , Pot of Gold, starting @ $1,000 &

up.Call:(956) 645-1804

PETS & SUPPLIES 128Mini Poodle, 1 mo. old, white brown, 1 shot, $120.00 obo.

SOLD

Pug puppies, 6wks.old,3F/1M $400ea.Call:(956) 750-1260Female Red nose Pit Bull .

8 mo. old.$175, call 286-9603;(956)750-0141

LIVESTOCK & SUPPLIES130

Horse, 4.5 years old, black, $900 Call:(956)763-8748

REG. 1 1/2 yr. old APHA Colt, easy to handle, nice show

prospect $1,000. Call:237-0765REG. 2 1/2 yr. old APHA Filly started under saddle, roping

prospect $1,500. Call:237-0765HELP WANTED 122

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

Blue Heelers 7wks. old, $50. 2616 Sabinas

Dachshund Mini Toys (Wennie dogs) m/f $200 ea. 229-4027

English Bulldogs, brindle,M/F, $1,200.

Call:242-9361Male Chihuahua puppy, honey

colored $100. 717-1395 or 337-2283.

MOBILE HOMES FORSALE 67

2bd/1ba fridge/stove, CAH, $12,500 Must be Moved. Call 724-3367Corner Lot & Moblie Home

2bd/2ba 5418 Ramirez, By Lp.20 & Saunders fenced w/Carport. Reduced Price

$55,000 754-2141

Travel Trailer, 28 ft., furnished, $2,800 cash obo. Call:(956)251-5766

LOTS FOR SALE 70

North Laredo. 1.3 Acres on Loop 20 near TAMIU, next to Khaledi Heights on Blue Quail St. $12.50 Per SqFt

Neg. Call Dr. Rendon 011-52-867-714-1502 or

011-52-867-715-0118

R-3, Lot & 1/3, corner, 120 W Locust and McDonell, 12,860 sq ft., $80,000.(956)725-6641.

ACREAGE FOR SALE 76

5 acre tract, frontageon Casa Verde Rd. $200,000

per acre.Contact (956)725-6641

6 Acres in Crystal City, With Hwy Frontage & River Front, @

$30,000. Owner finance w/$3,000 down Call 645-9664

10.19 acres at Bonanza Hills next to Los Botines, next to Hwy. 83 North, pavedroad, electricity available, fenced,

land cleared with 26x24 build-ing. $8,300 per acre.Call:(956)724-3161.

147 Acres LaSalle County cabin Elect. deer, hogs, dove,

quail $2330 acre 956-740-4849

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

$ Great Opportunity$ Franchise La Paletera$95,000OBO Been operating

for 3yrs. Fully Equip 1212 Inter-national Blvd. Call 251-3797

New Apts. (2) For Sale by Owner! 2bd/1ba, CAH,

W/D Hkps, $135,000 Call 723-6896; 645-8556

PETS & SUPPLIES

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

HOMES FOR SALE 61715 Westgate between Hillside Rd. & Calton Rd. 3bd/2ba/2cg, swimming pool. 1596 sqft. L.A.

7779 sqft. Lot. Fully fenced.$149,000 Call:(956)286-0370

3305 Saint Kathryn, 2 story 4bd/2.5ba/1cg, 1780sqft.$105,000 Call 771-4768House for Sale by owner, 1509 Sarazen (Plantation) 3bd/2.5ba. 2,477 SqFt per

WCAD. $275,500 www.buymyhouselaredo.com

Please Call for an appt.956-723-9705

Let me help you by putting you in your newhome like if you are paying rent. You canchoose a home from 3, 4 & 5 bedrooms.

You can even choose the area where you wantyour family to grow up.

Call Javier Garcia today @ 956-235-4641

4 bedroom 2 bath approx.1,500 sq.ft. home on a

10,000 sq.ft. lot for only$117,990 I will also help youwith your closing costs let

me worry about your credit.Call Luis Calderon

@956-725-1965 or @ my cell 956-645-8977

New house, 3bd/2ba, located near schools & shopping areas,

$89,000 Call:(956)771-4209

PORQUE RENTARcuando puede tener casapropia y al mismo tiempocalificar para un prestamo

de hast $7,500.00 dlls,casas al norte y sur de

laredo hableme para masinformacion, De Hoyos

956-635-6702

Shiloh- 1236 Longhorn,1950sqft,

3bd/2ba $175,000 Fi-nance By Owner

337-6701

CONDOS FOR SALE 64

1 Condo $55,000.Must Sell, Moving Out, negotia-

ble, 2bd/1.5ba, 2803 Bayard.Brand new, south Laredo. For

sale by owner.Call Dr. Rendon

011-52-867-714-1502 or 011-52-867-715-011

REAL ESTATE

HOMES FOR SALE 61

Norte, Central y Sur de Laredo CasasDisponibles de 3 a 5 recamaras para

mudarse el dia de HOY. Facil deCalificar. Financiamiento Disponible.

Llame HOY, al 956-237-2041 O a 956-717-0958

Con Adriana Moya Tijeriana

Great Location-New Spacious Homes3 Bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage

approx. 1400 sq.ft. paying closingcost. Monthly payment $1100.00Call Jesus @ cell 956-740-2542

office 956-724-9756

2 NEW SUBDIVISION INNORTH LAREDO FROM

THE $150’S & UP.RESERVE YOUR HOME-SITE TODAY WITH ONLY

$500.00 IN HOUSEFINANCING AVAILABLE.FOR MORE INFO. CALLANTHONY CARABALLO

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3B

AARRIIEESS ((MMaarrcchh 2211 ttooAApprriill 1199)) Something aboutpolitics, religion or highereducation (or perhaps

even publishing and media) dis-courages you today. Maybe ateacher or VIP is on your case.Relax. This will pass.

TTAAUURRUUSS ((AApprriill 2200 ttooMMaayy 2200)) You might beconcerned about sharedproperty, the wealth of

your partner or other financial is-sues. Things look bleak. (It’s al-ways darkest before it gets pitch

black.) GGEEMMIINNII ((MMaayy 2211 ttoo

JJuunnee 2200)) Conversationswith partners and close

friends are critical, strained andunfriendly. Try to make the best ofthis. These are the people you nor-

mally love. (And vice ver-sa.)

CCAANNCCEERR ((JJuunnee 2211 ttooJJuullyy 2222)) Co-workers are

critical of you today, or perhaps you’recritical of them? Either way, don’t fall

into the habit of being pickywith others today.

LLEEOO ((JJuullyy 2233 ttoo AAuugg..2222)) It’s easy to be fault-find-

ing with children and loved onestoday. But what’s the point? AsGoethe observed, “Correction

does much; but encour-agement does more.”

VVIIRRGGOO ((AAuugg.. 2233 ttoo SSeepptt..2222)) Tension and family dis-

cussions are likely today becausesomeone might be a wet blanket,

busy telling everyone else whythey can’t do something.

LLIIBBRRAA ((SSeepptt.. 2233 ttoo OOcctt..2222)) This is a worrisome

day, and you are in a worrisomemood. When these things comeover you, it’s so hard to shake it,isn’t it? If you can’t kick it off, just

accept it and wallow in itfor a while.

SSCCOORRPPIIOO ((OOcctt.. 2233 ttooNNoovv.. 2211)) Financial disputeswith others might occur

today. Or someone older and moreexperienced than you could becritical of you or discouraging in

some way. (Bummer.) SSAAGGIITTTTAARRIIUUSS ((NNoovv..

2222 ttoo DDeecc.. 2211)) This is apoor day to seek out thesupport of parents, teach-

ers, bosses or VIPs. They will shutyou down. So avoid try-ing to get permission orapproval. Lie low.

CCAAPPRRIICCOORRNN ((DDeecc.. 2222ttoo JJaann.. 1199)) Self-doubt or feelings ofinadequacy might grip you today.Try not to let this get you down.

These feelings are tempo-rary and will pass. Con-tinue your research insome area.

AAQQUUAARRIIUUSS ((JJaann.. 2200 ttoo FFeebb.. 1188))People seem intent on telling youwhy you can’t do things today, in-

stead of offering sup-port. Oh well. Somedays are like this. It’s notreally a big deal.

PPIISSCCEESS ((FFeebb.. 1199 ttoo MMaarrcchh 2200))Bosses, parents and VIPs willblock your suggestions today.Don’t take this personally. Maybethe time is not right?

YYOOUURR BBOORRNN TTOODDAAYY You’reperceptive and observant; you un-derstand the human condition.Because of this, you know how toappeal to others. You’re also quickto see where an opportunity is.Essentially, you’re practical andeasygoing, and you always lookfor the best in something. New av-enues and new beginnings thisyear have been exciting. Next year,you focus on partnerships.

BBiirrtthhddaattee ooff:: Shekhar Kapur,filmmaker; Ira Gershwin, PulitzerPrize-winning lyricist; DaveBrubeck, jazz pianist/composer.

HOROSCOPES | BY FRANCIS DRAKE

Dear Readers: Is your pet apart of your upcoming TRAVELPLANS for the holidays? Be sureyou pack for your pet, too!

Here aresome ideas tokeep in mind:

Beddingand a blanket,especially ifyour pet is eld-erly.

Bowls forfood and water— and bottled

water for the trip. Medications and a copy of

vet records. And remember, many cities

have laws against animal drop-pings being left behind — so take

along a pooper scoop or plasticbags from the newspaper or thestore. — Heloise

PET PAL Dear Readers: Marie Martin

of Oakland, Maine, sent a photo ofher all-white (except for black andbrown markings on his head) cat,Hobie-com, looking like he iswaiting for it to be his turn on thecomputer. Marie says, “Hobiecame to us as a stray and loves thecomputer, and he watches everymove on the screen.”

Visit www.Heloise.com to seeHobie online! — Heloise

RECYCLE Dear Readers: Here is a help-

ful pet hint to make a low-cost,warm, comfy bed using plasticgrocery-store bags and foam

peanuts. Loosely stuff plasticbags with foam peanuts and tiethe handles together. You can putthese in a pillowcase or a dog-bed cover. When the peanutssquash down, just refill withbags of fresh foam peanuts. —Heloise

RAISING BIRDS Dear Heloise: If you raise birds,

you should only put proper birdnesting material (not cotton ballsor dryer lint) in their cage. You canbuy the bedding at any pet store. Iwas raising zebra finches, andmany times they would have sixbabies at a time. I started puttingpuppy food in the cage to help themother and father feed the babies.They were all healthy and happy! —Kelly in Colorado

HELOISE

HINTS BY HELOISE

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM Zclassified BY PHONE: (956) 728-2527

4B | THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008

<DATE> LAREDO MORNING TIMES | 1B

Hiring BACKHOE OPERATOR.Must have a minimum of 1 yearexperience with oil field workand must have a CDL. Apply in person at 3905 Rotary Dr.

Also hiring TIRE MAN withexperience in 18 wheeler tires.Please apply in person.

GATEWAYAMBULANCE

HIRING EXPERIENCEEMT-B F/T APPLY AT

1308 CLARK ST.SUITE-B

DRIVERS WANTED

12 month lease with optionto buy + $2400 completionbonus on a ’07 Freightliner Century.Only $462 per week lease cost todrivers. Average 91 CPM (based on avg. length of haul) + fuel surcharge. Also hiring owner-operators, solo & team drivers.

866-817-9666

LEASE PROGRAM-NO CREDIT CHECKNO MONEY DOWN

www.xpressdrivers.com

Distributor, Specialtyper foods. Greatproducts. $2,500

inventory guaranteed.Spectrum Pet Care

1-800-356-2832

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198‘06 Dodge Dakota, 16K Miles, Club Cab, 6 cyl, auto. $8500

OBO (956) 235-0701

‘99 Grand Caravan, 5 doors, Excellent Cond.$3200 Call 791-3607Chevy Trailblazer ‘06, 3rd.seat, rear a/c, 4x4, under

warranty, $14,900 Call:(956)220-2937

Cummins 3.9 Diesel & GasStep Vans 7 to Choose

From. $4,000 and up. Call722-3840 or 763-4840

Dodge Durango ‘99, $5,300 obo, super clean, new tires,

108k mi. Call:(956)326-9997;285-9595

Escape ‘03 Buenas Cond. 96mil. $4500 Inf:

727-6071Ford Explorer ‘99, 4dr.,6cyl., blue title, $2,600.

Call:(956)333-5451Hunter’s Special! ‘01 Chev. Sil-

verado 1500 Z71, 4x4, 1 owner, exc. cond., A/C, brush

guard, head ache rack, $7,995, OBO 744-1414

Tundra ‘03 4x4,Buenas Cond.

56Kmil., $8500 OMOInf: 401-2344

CARS FOR SALE 2001998 Cadillac SLS, 4d sedan,

leather seats, loaded, like new,Call:(956)724-4667 or

740-8010‘04 GrandPrix GT special edi-

tion, 56K miles, 6 cyl. good condition, $6700 OBO Call

242-3202 or 413 Clark‘05 Nissan Sentra, 70k miles, good condition, A/C, $5900

OBO. Call 242-3202

‘97 Mustang Cobra, clean title $7500 negotiable.

956-489-1457Acura 2.5TL ‘98, lthr. int., sun-

roof, a/c, all pwr., blue title, new tires, excellent conditions, low mi., $4,500. Call(956)237-6017

Cadillac Sedan Deville ‘92, $1,000 obo. Needs work.

Call:(956)220-2896.

CHRYSLER 300Limited ‘05, fullyloaded, $14,750(956)229-2445

Classic ‘66 Mustang 289, great interior, auto, Must Sell! $5,800

obo. (956)726-4589 ad#83007369, jose\66.

Honda Accord ‘93, low milage, good running condition, 4

cilinders, economic. $2,300.Call:727-2635

Honda Accord LX ‘97, all pwr., new tires, a/c, excellent cond.

blue title, 1 owner, $4,200.Call:(956)237-6017

Honda Civic ‘93, auto, a/c, 86k mi., 4dr., good tires. 2nd owner

$3,000. 763-4734

Mazda 626 ‘00, 4cyl.,good condition

$1,600Call: (956)286-3592

Pontiac Firebird ‘99, a/c, auto, 6 cyl., all pwr., good condition, $2,950 obo. Call(956)324-6783

SPORTING GOODS 142Mini max 45 ACP, 6+1, Colt look alike, 3 in. barrel $375

Call:(956)235-3441.Ruger MK3, bull barrell,

SIGP226, 357 SIG, stainless, night sight, $300 & up.

235-3841

TTRRAANNSSPPOORRTTAATTIIOONN

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS194Selling parts for 1994 4x4

Toyota.$300 & down Call:(956)635-7080

New Parts for 2003 F-250, rear bumper, tow bar, mirrors. $500

obo. Call:(956)206-1640Selling parts for 1994 4x4

Toyota.$300 & down Call:(956)635-7080

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198

‘00 Chevy S-10 Ext. Cab 4x4, 84Kmil., Lifted, larger tires, bedliner, brush guard, Hi-lift, $6500 Call 237-9587

‘05 Silverado Crew Cab, Good Cond.

$9700 Call 645-7992‘91 Dodge Truck (old CPL Truck) Good Cond., $2500

OBO Call 635-8428‘98 Ford F-150, cab 1/2,

auto, v8, work truck.$2,800 (956) 635-4743

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

Frigidaire washer & dryer, white, $350.

Call:(956)727-3788

Full Country Club Membership for sale. $3,950. Call 285-1104.

Pride of the Brush by PanchoFarias, limited edition, color

print 11x14, framed $49, Call 645-0840.

SERENATAS$30 for 3 songs, byguitarist singer. Also

hourly.(956)728-8481.Seven drawer executive style

desk, solid wood. $75 Call:(956)236-4092.

Sofa & Loveseat- Mocha shades $850 OBO

Call 754-3097Sofa/full single bunk bed, black

metal tubing, $100 Call:(956)236-4092.

Sofa, love seat, cocktail & end tables. Like new! $599 obo.

Call:(956)251-5766

Vendo TV RCA 32” Digital $135 Inf. 333-5451radio 135*829*2784

Washer & Dryer, excellent condition, white color, $350

pair. Call:(956)324-8903

MUSICAL INSTRU-MENTS 138

GibsonBalwinElectricGuitar

SignatureSeries, darkcherry wine

color,new in open

box. $380 call956-324-9291HELP WANTED 122

MMIISSCCEELLLLAANNEEOOUUSS

GARAGE SALES 1342Family Sale! 3020 Chestnut St. Sat.Only 8-2, Clothes, toys,

elect, baby clothes & misc.Big Sale! Saturday 622 Allende 8am-5pm. Lots of housewares,

home decor, Xmas decor.Estate Sale, Dec. 5 & 6, 317 E.Montgomery, 8am-4pm, furni-

ture, housewares, clothing, etc.Garage Sale at 2619 Okane

Saturday December 6th, 8am-12pm. No Early Birds!MEGA Sale, 2604 Laredo,Wed, Thurs & Fri ., 8a-5p.

Clothes, magazines, books, toys, shoes & household items.Multi family garage sale. Sat & Sun 8am-1pm both days. No Early Birds! 810 Topaz Trail

(tiara Subdivision) across from Divine Mercy Church.

Saturday Only! 8am-12noon 237 Middle Stone Dr.

(Dominion Del Mar) Household items, clothes & ladies shoes

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

“MARIACHI POPULAR”.All Occasions. Starting @

$400 Hector Caballero 236-8905

1 full, 2 twin bed. Headboard frame & mattress incl $50 OBO OBO Call 286-8134 After 5pm

Apple IPhone 8GB Excel-lent condition $225. Call 693-3927 or 724-3683

Barro para techo. $250 Inf:(956)726-4580

For sale 8 liner , Pot of Gold, starting @ $1,000 &

up.Call:(956) 645-1804

PETS & SUPPLIES 128Mini Poodle, 1 mo. old, white brown, 1 shot, $120.00 obo.

SOLD

Pug puppies, 6wks.old,3F/1M $400ea.Call:(956) 750-1260Female Red nose Pit Bull .

8 mo. old.$175, call 286-9603;(956)750-0141

LIVESTOCK & SUPPLIES130

Horse, 4.5 years old, black, $900 Call:(956)763-8748

REG. 1 1/2 yr. old APHA Colt, easy to handle, nice show

prospect $1,000. Call:237-0765REG. 2 1/2 yr. old APHA Filly started under saddle, roping

prospect $1,500. Call:237-0765HELP WANTED 122

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

Blue Heelers 7wks. old, $50. 2616 Sabinas

Dachshund Mini Toys (Wennie dogs) m/f $200 ea. 229-4027

English Bulldogs, brindle,M/F, $1,200.

Call:242-9361Male Chihuahua puppy, honey

colored $100. 717-1395 or 337-2283.

MOBILE HOMES FORSALE 67

2bd/1ba fridge/stove, CAH, $12,500 Must be Moved. Call 724-3367Corner Lot & Moblie Home

2bd/2ba 5418 Ramirez, By Lp.20 & Saunders fenced w/Carport. Reduced Price

$55,000 754-2141

Travel Trailer, 28 ft., furnished, $2,800 cash obo. Call:(956)251-5766

LOTS FOR SALE 70

North Laredo. 1.3 Acres on Loop 20 near TAMIU, next to Khaledi Heights on Blue Quail St. $12.50 Per SqFt

Neg. Call Dr. Rendon 011-52-867-714-1502 or

011-52-867-715-0118

R-3, Lot & 1/3, corner, 120 W Locust and McDonell, 12,860 sq ft., $80,000.(956)725-6641.

ACREAGE FOR SALE 76

5 acre tract, frontageon Casa Verde Rd. $200,000

per acre.Contact (956)725-6641

6 Acres in Crystal City, With Hwy Frontage & River Front, @

$30,000. Owner finance w/$3,000 down Call 645-9664

10.19 acres at Bonanza Hills next to Los Botines, next to Hwy. 83 North, pavedroad, electricity available, fenced,

land cleared with 26x24 build-ing. $8,300 per acre.Call:(956)724-3161.

147 Acres LaSalle County cabin Elect. deer, hogs, dove,

quail $2330 acre 956-740-4849

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

$ Great Opportunity$ Franchise La Paletera$95,000OBO Been operating

for 3yrs. Fully Equip 1212 Inter-national Blvd. Call 251-3797

New Apts. (2) For Sale by Owner! 2bd/1ba, CAH,

W/D Hkps, $135,000 Call 723-6896; 645-8556

PPEETTSS && SSUUPPPPLLIIEESS

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

HOMES FOR SALE 61715 Westgate between Hillside Rd. & Calton Rd. 3bd/2ba/2cg, swimming pool. 1596 sqft. L.A.

7779 sqft. Lot. Fully fenced.$149,000 Call:(956)286-0370

3305 Saint Kathryn, 2 story 4bd/2.5ba/1cg, 1780sqft.$105,000 Call 771-4768House for Sale by owner, 1509 Sarazen (Plantation) 3bd/2.5ba. 2,477 SqFt per

WCAD. $275,500 www.buymyhouselaredo.com

Please Call for an appt.956-723-9705

Let me help you by putting you in your newhome like if you are paying rent. You canchoose a home from 3, 4 & 5 bedrooms.

You can even choose the area where you wantyour family to grow up.

Call Javier Garcia today @ 956-235-4641

4 bedroom 2 bath approx.1,500 sq.ft. home on a

10,000 sq.ft. lot for only$117,990 I will also help youwith your closing costs let

me worry about your credit.Call Luis Calderon

@956-725-1965 or @ my cell 956-645-8977

New house, 3bd/2ba, located near schools & shopping areas,

$89,000 Call:(956)771-4209

PORQUE RENTARcuando puede tener casapropia y al mismo tiempocalificar para un prestamo

de hast $7,500.00 dlls,casas al norte y sur de

laredo hableme para masinformacion, De Hoyos

956-635-6702

Shiloh- 1236 Longhorn,1950sqft,

3bd/2ba $175,000 Fi-nance By Owner

337-6701

CONDOS FOR SALE 64

1 Condo $55,000.Must Sell, Moving Out, negotia-

ble, 2bd/1.5ba, 2803 Bayard.Brand new, south Laredo. For

sale by owner.Call Dr. Rendon

011-52-867-714-1502 or 011-52-867-715-011

RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

HOMES FOR SALE 61

Norte, Central y Sur de Laredo CasasDisponibles de 3 a 5 recamaras para

mudarse el dia de HOY. Facil deCalificar. Financiamiento Disponible.

Llame HOY, al 956-237-2041 O a 956-717-0958

Con Adriana Moya Tijeriana

Great Location-New Spacious Homes3 Bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage

approx. 1400 sq.ft. paying closingcost. Monthly payment $1100.00Call Jesus @ cell 956-740-2542

office 956-724-9756

2 NEW SUBDIVISION INNORTH LAREDO FROM

THE $150’S & UP.RESERVE YOUR HOME-SITE TODAY WITH ONLY

$500.00 IN HOUSEFINANCING AVAILABLE.FOR MORE INFO. CALLANTHONY CARABALLO

@ 333-3844

Has your family outgrownyour home? Good news!Your dream home is just

a trade away!Call me, Eddie Rendon

(956) 763-8207

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Make over $50,000 per year!Total sign shop for sale w/allNEW equipment, includingRoland inkjet printer/cutter,

plotter, laminator, computers,customer & vendor lists, etc.

Call (956)237-8310 or(956)744-2679