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SATURDAYMARCH 7, 2009

FREEGOOD STARTS

Districts appeal to state Federal grantfor SheriffBy TARYN WHITE and ZACH LINDSEY

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Conflicting appraisals of Zap-ata County mineral valuations bythe state comptroller’s office andthe Zapata Appraisal District havemoved both the Zapata CISD andthe Zapata County Appraisal Dis-trict to file a formal appeal withthe state.

According to Amada Gonza-lez, chief appraiser for the ap-praisal district, the state’s prop-

erty appraisalwas higher thanthe district’svalues. Gonza-lez could notgive exact fig-ures.

The appealwill not changethe outcome of

the appraisal but it will formallytell the state the Appraisal Dis-trict does not agree with theirnumbers, according to Laura Mc-

Coy, chief financial officer for theZapata County IndependentSchool District.

“If they don’t file a formal ap-peal, it could set them up for anaudit in the future,” McCoy said.

During a special call meeting onThursday the Zapata CISD Board ofTrustees voted to show their sup-port by joining in on the appeal.

“They asked us and we did it toshow our support,” said RomeoRodriguez, Zapata CISD superin-tendent.

In actuality because of the Za-pata’s standing as a chapter 41 dis-trict, which classifies it as a min-eral rich district, the outcome ofthe appraisal has limited effect onhow much money they receive.

Because of how much ZapataCISD collects in taxes, it pays thestate a recapture fee of about $16million a year. The recapture fee isbased off of a formula which takesinto account how much school

By ERIKA LAMBRETONTHE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata County Sheriff’sDepartment will receive morethan $15,000 in federal funds,thanks to the recovery bill thatwas recently signed into law.

The money will be used forlaw enforcement operations,said Zapata Sheriff, Sigirfredo“Sigi” Gonzalez.

Funding is provided underthe Edward Byrne Justice Assis-tance Grant (JAG) Program,which is administered by the fed-eral Bureau of Justice Assistance.

JAG grants allow state andlocal governments to support abroad range of activities to pre-vent and control crime and im-prove the criminal justice sys-tem. JAG funds can be used forstate and local initiatives, tech-nical assistance, training, per-sonnel, equipment, supplies,contractual support, and infor-mation systems for criminal jus-tice, said Congressman HenryCuellar’s office in a news release.

“Anything helps,” said Gonza-lez, “We will use it as best we can.”

5 agencies get oil firm’s aid

IBC Bank-Zapata gets Bee Co. Chamber honor

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

ZAPATA — The Bee County Chamber of Com-merce has announced IBC Bank–Zapata as the ini-tial recipient of its Corporate Citizen of the YearAward.

The award recognizes chamber members whoare dedicated to bettering Bee County throughtheir philanthropic work.

“Renato Ramirez, president of IBC-BrushCountry, has been extremely supportive of thechamber by donating time and resources to sup-port our projects,” said Pam Priour Stuart, presi-dent of the Bee County Chamber of Commerce.

“IBC-Brush Country” is the unofficial term

used for the International Bank of Commerce fa-cility in Beeville, which is part of IBC-Zapata.

“In addition to IBC’s support of the chamber,the bank has worked tirelessly to support edu-cation throughout the county through theirwork with the Beeville Independent School Dis-trict and Coastal Bend College,” Priour Stuartsaid.

“The bank’s work and dedication make it theideal recipient of this honor, and we look forwardto IBC’s continued efforts in making our city a bet-ter place for all residents.”

Across the state, IBC has been recognized byseveral organizations for its work and the work ofits employees within the community.

Big opening weekend for fairBy ERIKA LAMBRETON

THE ZAPATA TIMES

The “Best Little Fair in Texas” is off to a greatstart, with a successful turnout for last weekend’sopening ceremonies.

Organizers are expecting a record number of at-tendees.

“We’re really excited everything has turned outwell,” said Anna Holcomb, this year’s president of theZapata County Fair Association.

With almost 100 riders participating in the TrailRide and an exciting, competitive queen contest,which Holcomb said was a great success last week-end, this year’s fair is turning out better then antic-ipated.

With a predicted attendance of 10,000 people,Jose “Paco” Mendoza Jr., executive director of the Za-pata County Chamber of Commerce, hopes everyone

will join the celebration.“We want to invite everybody to attend,” Mendoza

said. “It’s a great event to bring the whole family.(We) invite everyone to come out and have a goodtime.”

Mendoza said the fair should draw a large crowdwith its reasonable prices and wholesome family en-tertainment.

“(Fair prices) are not out of this world. Our pricesare very affordable,” said Mendoza. “We keep themthat way so everyone can afford to come and have agood time.”

The county fair is in its 36th year, and has hadcommunity support since its inception.

“I’ve been attending the fair for as long as I can re-member,” said Mendoza, adding this an event thewhole town can participate in.

By JOE RUTLANDTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Five Zapata County entitiesreceived a total of more than$25,000 in donations fromConocoPhillips this week as thecivic-minded company contin-ues to show its support forSouth Texas organizations.

Those Zapata organizationsinclude:Zapata County Fair, which

received a $7,900 donation Zapata County Indepen-

dent School District, which re-ceived a $7,500 donation Helping Hands Food

Pantry of Zapata, which re-ceived a $5,100 donation Zapata County Fire De-

partment, which received a$5,100 donation Boys & Girls Club of

Photos by Cuate Santos | The Zapata TimesThe Zapata County Fair received a boost of $7,900 from the ConocoPhillipsSouth Texas Philanthropic Committee on Wednesday at the ConocoPhillips officesin Aguilares. From left,Zapata County Commissioner Pct. 1 Jose Emilio Vela, RandyBlack, Zapata County Treasurer Romeo Salinas and Sergio Ramirez.

The Helping was awarded $5,100 from the ConocoPhillips South Texas Philan-thropic Committee on Wednesday at the ConocoPhillips offices in Aguilares. Fromleft, Zapata County Commissioner Pct. 1 Jose Emilio Vela, Randy Black, ZapataCounty Treasurer Romeo Salinas and Sergio Ramirez.

Photos by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times TTOOPP:: A group of Winter Texans participate in an exercise class at the recreationcenter of the Four Seasons RV Park in Zapata on Friday. From left, Jean Wor-ley, 78, Thelma Gage, 78, Pat Wacker, 73, Irene Sipher, 92, and Ramona Bjork,68. AABBOOVVEE:: Winter Texans Gene Rowe, 75, left, and Ken Gruenhagen, 79, par-ticipate in an exercise class at the recreation center at the Four Seasons RVPark in Zapata on Friday.

KEEPING WARMIN ZAPATA

By TARYN WHITETHE ZAPATA TIMES

Every year thousands ofpeople attracted to thewarm weather and a

thriving social scene migratefrom states all over the countryto sunny Zapata.

Making up a large part ofthe Zapata economy, WinterTexans eat at the town’s restau-rants, shop at local stores andtake part in a variety of events.

“They are the nicest peopleand they contribute a lot to oureconomy,” said Avon Hatfield, adirector at the Zapata Chamberof Commerce. “They come hereto live in a quiet place withwarm weather.”

Avon estimates close to8,000 people from variousstates come to Zapata everyyear. Most of them stay at one ofthe many trailer parks or camp-grounds around the city.

“They started coming 15 ormaybe 20 years ago,” Hatfieldsaid. “Since then, the numbershave grown just by word ofmouth.”

JoAnn Drummond came toZapata seven years ago fromNebraska, where she spends sixmonths out of the year. Shemanages the Four SeasonsTrailer Park.

“I love the people in thetown, the good food, how inex-pensive it is and, of course, theweather,” Drummond said.

When Drummond first ar-rived in Zapata she became asubstitute teacher at VillarrealElementary School.

“I wanted something do towith my time,” Drummond said.

Now, other than managingFour Seasons, Drummondhelps organize a Christmas par-ty and toy drive at the trailer

RODRIGUEZ

See COUNTY | PAGE 8A

See GRANT | PAGE 8A

See AID | PAGE 8A

See FAIR | PAGE 8A

See WARM | PAGE 8A

DDRRIIVVIINNGG WWHHIILLEE IINNTTOOXXII--

Business Manager Dora Martinez.. . . . (956) 500-4748Chief Accountant, Thelma Aguero . . . . . . .728-2553Controller, Joe Vied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2502General Manager, Adriana Devally . . . . . . .728-2510Retail Adv. Manager, Alice Arce . . . . . . . . . .728-2511Classified Manager, Sandra Valderrama . .728-2525Adv. Billing Inquires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2531Circulation Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2550Creative/Production Director, Raul Cruz .728-2596MIS Director, Michael Castillo . . . . . . . . . . .728-2505Editor, Diana Fuentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2581City Editor, Julie Daffern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2565Sports Editor, Dennis Silva II . . . . . . . . . . .728-2579Business Journal Editor, Joe Rutland . . . .728-2529A&E Editor, Kirsten Crow . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2543

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The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000households in Zapata County. For subscribers of LaredoMorning Times and those who buy LMT at newstands. The Zapata Times is inserted inside.

The Zapata Times is free.The Zapata Times is published by Laredo Morning

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

The Zapata office is at 1309 N. US Highway 83 at14th Avenue, Suite 2; Zapata,TX, 78076. Call (956) 765-5113or e-mail thezapatatimes@att.net

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ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2AZin brief SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

WWHHAATT’’SS GGOOIINNGG OONN

TTOODDAAYY IINN HHIISSTTOORRYY

AARROOUUNNDD TTEEXXAASS | IN BRIEF

AARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE WWOORRLLDD | IN BRIEFAARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE NNAATTIIOONN | IN BRIEFTHURSDAY MARCH 12

The Zapata County Fair kicks off to-day at county fair grounds today at 8 a.m.Events include a livestock show, musicalperformances, a carnival and a streetdance. Livestock judging will begin todaystarting at 9:30 a.m. with Rabbits andsteers. The fair will run through Saturday.Don’t miss out on this year’s fun. For moreinformation call 765-9920

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 The Zapata County Fair continues

livestock judging today starting at 8 a.m.followed later by a Street Dance with GrupoNemesis playing from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.,Los Cinco de Zapata from 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.,a Tight Jean Contest from 8:30- 9 p.m.,Jaime de Anda y Los Chamacos will payfrom 9 p.m.-10:30, and Los Palominos willclose today’s festivities from 10:30 to mid-night. Today is the first day of Spring

Break. No classes will be held at ZapataCISD through March 20.The Zapata County Fair resumes to-

day at 8 a.m. For more information, call765-9920

SATURDAY, MARCH 14 Today is the last day of the Zapata

County Fair. The annual parade begins at10 a.m. There are a variety of entertain-ments throughout the day at the fair-grounds. The grito contest is at 7 p.m.,and the street dance with numerous bandsstarts at 7:30 p.m. For more information,call 765-9920 or visit www.zpatacounty-faironline.com The Laredo Under Seven Flags Ro-

tary Club presents “A Valentine’s Night ToRemember,”a dinner and dance, today from7 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. at Paseo Real Recep-tion Hall, 2335 Endeavor Drive. The eventcosts $75 per person or $125 per couple.Live music will be provided by ShowbandInternational. For more information, callDiana Juarez at 319-3100 or Diana Garza at645-0644.

MONDAY, MARCH 23 Classes resume after the Spring

Break holiday for the Zapata IndependentSchool District.

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 The Zapata County Waterworks de-

partment will be having a Relay for LifePizza plate fundraiser today at their officeslocated at 605 North Hwy 83. The plateconsists of two slices of pizza, a soda andchips for $5. Plates will be avaliable forpick up starting at noon.All proceeds will goto the Zapata County Relay for Life Team.For more information or to place an orderplease call 765-9975.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10Staff development day at Zapata In-

dependent School district; no class for stu-dents. Pre-registration will be held today forthe Falcon Lake Big Bass Tournamanet,which kicks off tomorrow, at the HolidayRestaurant. Or you can register online atwww.zapatausa.com For more informationplease call the Zapata Chamber of Com-merce at 765-4871

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 Falcon Lake Big Bass Tournament is

set to start today. Planning is underwayfor live entertainment and food sponsors.More details to come. For more informationplease call the Zapata Chamber of Com-merce at 765-4871

SUNDAY, APRIL 12Today is the start of National Library

Week. The San Ygnacio Public Library andthe County Public Library will celebratewith what is called Amnesty Week. Thismeans no late fees will be charged on anybook. The event runs though April 18. Formore information, call 765-5351

Attorney: Mother with 2 children recalled to Army duty discharged

By MITCH WEISSASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Caroli-na mother who reported for Army dutywith her two young children said Fridayshe is happy and relieved that the militarygranted her an honorable discharge.

Lisa Pagan was back home in David-son on Friday after spending a week atFort Benning, waiting to learn if shewould be put on active duty, possibly fac-ing a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan.

In her first interview since leaving FortBenning, Pagan said it was “nice to behome.”

“After I was told I could leave, my firstthought was: God finally answered myprayers. I’ve been going to church everyweekend and saying my prayers. I’m justgoing to let this set in. I know what I didwas controversial, but it was something Ihad to do,” she said.

Pagan had been fighting the Armysince she was recalled to active duty inNovember 2007, saying she had no one tocare for her children.

A former truck driver in the Army, Pa-

gan was recalled four years after being re-leased from active duty, which is allowedunder the military’s “individual ready re-serve” program.

Attorney Mark Waple said Pagan wasdischarged due to family hardship. AnArmy spokesman at Fort Benning con-firmed Pagan was discharged Friday, butdeclined to say what kind of discharge shereceived or comment on why the Army lether go.

Soldiers can appeal, and nearly a thirdhave won permission to remain in civilianlife. Pagan filed several appeals, arguingthat because her husband travels for busi-ness, no one else can take care of herkids. Her appeals were rejected.

So she reported for duty Monday atFort Benning, Ga., with her children, 4-year-old Elizabeth and 3-year-old Eric.

Her children spent the week in anArmy day care center, while she wasprocessed for active duty — filling outpaperwork and undergoing medicaltests. But from the time she arrived, shesaid she believed she would be dis-charged.

1st female shipcaptain dies at 93

BANGOR, Maine — Molly K.Carney, who as Molly Kool wasthe first woman in North Amer-ica to become a licensed shipcaptain, has died at her home atthe age of 93.

Known in Canada by hermaiden name, Molly Kool wonher captain’s papers in 1939 andsailed the Atlantic Ocean be-tween Alma, New Brunswick,and Boston for five years.

Kool grew up in the villageof Alma, where she learned alove of the sea and sailing fromher father, a Dutch ship captain.

Ruling could mean unions for all in Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Cal-ifornia Supreme Court could de-cide that there are two kinds ofsame-sex couples: those whocan’t get married, and those whoalready did.

A ruling that upholds bothvoters’ November decision to bangay marriage and the 18,000same-sex marriages conductedearlier in California could comeoff as a safe compromise.

Such a decision would givesame-sex marriage advocates anavenue to pursue a federal ap-peal.

Calif. oil spill captain pleads guilty

SAN FRANCISCO — The pilotat the helm of the cargo ship thatcaused a massive oil spill in theSan Francisco Bay pleadedguilty Friday to two misde-meanor environmental crimesin exchange for prosecutorsdropping felony counts.

Capt. John Cota enteredguilty pleas to illegally discharg-ing oil and killing birds as part ofan agreement with federal pros-ecutors to drop two felonycharges that Cota lied on annualmedical forms required by theU.S. Coast Guard.

— Compiled from AP reports

Ciudad Juarez braces for troop patrols

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico —The mayor of the Mexican bor-der city of Ciudad Juarez toldresidents Friday to prepare for amonthslong presence of armytroops, but said the arrival ofthousands of soldiers had al-ready reduced killings by almost90 percent.

The city government is issu-ing advice for citizens on how toget along with more than 5,000soldiers who will be in CiudadJuarez for months. Thousandsof those troops arrived over theweekend, part of a promisedgovernment surge.

Morocco severs relations with Iran

RABAT, Morocco — Moroccocut off diplomatic relations withIran on Friday, accusing Tehranin a rare public spat of trying tospread Shia Islam in this SunniArab kingdom.

The tensions were com-pounded by recent Iranian com-ments toward Sunni-ledBahrain that have raised hack-les in the Arab world.

The ministry accused largelyShiite Iran’s Embassy in Rabatof trying to “alter the religiousfundamentals of the kingdom”and threaten Morocco’s reli-gious unity.

— Compiled from AP re-

A&M rescinds alert about reported gunman

COLLEGE STATION — Aphone call to Texas A&M Uni-versity police reporting a gun-man on the third floor of a cam-pus building was a hoax,authorities said Friday.

The message was issued viae-mail and text message to A&Mstudents and staff around 5:30p.m. Friday.

The text said, quote: “A reportof man with gun in HR BrightBuilding near Chem (chemistrybuilding), police searching. Seekshelter, avoid area.”

A subsequent advisory, justbefore 6:15 p.m. Friday, said thetwo buildings had been“checked and cleared, no manwith gun. Sheltering can end.”

“We came to the conclusionthat it was a hoax, a bogus call,”university spokesman LaneStephenson said.

5 people killed in traffic accident

LUBBOCK — Five peopledied Friday in a collision north-west of Lubbock.

Two others were injured inthe wreck, which involved asedan containing six people anda sport utility vehicle occupiedby one person. Both driverswere taken to local hospitals,Department of Public SafetyCpl. John Gonzales said.

Authorities say one vehiclewas traveling eastbound onFarm-to-Market Road 2641 andthe SUV was northbound onCounty Road 1700 when thecrash occurred around 4 p.m.They collided in the middle ofan intersection and went off the

road in a nearby field.

Perry seeks aidfor all 254 counties

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry isseeking a federal disaster dec-laration for all 254 countiesdealing with the the devastat-ing Texas drought.

Perry’s office released a copyof Friday’s emergency requestto the U.S. Department of Agri-culture.

If approved, qualified farmoperators would be eligible forlow-interest USDA loans.

Perry says Texas farms andranches have suffered economicand physical losses due to se-vere drought conditions. He alsocited an “extremely high num-ber” of wildfires across Texas.

The governor also askedPresident Barack Obama to ap-prove an emergency declarationfor 199 Texas counties due tothe threat of wildfires.

Tejano singer Emilio charged with DWI

HOUSTON — A misde-meanor charge of driving whileintoxicated was filed Fridayagainst Tejano music starEmilio Navaira over his 2008tour bus wreck in suburbanHouston.

The entertainer, who per-forms as Emilio, is suspected ofbeing legally drunk when hecrashed the vehicle.

Houston television stationKTRK reported the HarrisCounty District Attorney’s Of-fice on Friday filed the chargeagainst Navaira. His bond wasset at $5,000.

— Compiled from AP reports

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, March 7,the 66th day of 2009. There are299 days left in the year. A re-minder: Daylight-saving time be-gins at 2 a.m. Sunday. Clocksmove forward one hour.

TTooddaayy’’ss HHiigghhlliigghhtt iinn HHiissttoorryy::On March 7, 1965, a march

by civil rights demonstrators wasbroken up in Selma, Ala., by statetroopers and a sheriff’s posse.

On this date:In 1793, during the French

Revolutionary Wars, France de-clared war on Spain.

In 1850, in a three-hourspeech to the U.S. Senate, DanielWebster endorsed the Compro-mise of 1850 as a means of pre-serving the Union.

In 1875, composer MauriceRavel was born in Ciboure,France.

In 1876, Alexander GrahamBell received a patent for his tele-phone.

In 1926, the first successfultrans-Atlantic radio-telephoneconversations took place, be-tween New York and London.

In 1945, during World War II,U.S. forces crossed the RhineRiver at Remagen, Germany, us-

ing the damaged but still usableLudendorff Bridge.

In 1975, the U.S. Senate re-vised its filibuster rule, allowing60 senators to limit debate inmost cases, instead of the previ-ously required two-thirds of sen-ators present.

In 1981, anti-governmentguerrillas in Colombia executedkidnapped American Bibletranslator Chester Allen Bitter-man, whom they accused of be-ing a CIA agent.

TTeenn yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: Movie directorStanley Kubrick, whose films in-cluded “Dr. Strangelove,” “AClockwork Orange” and “2001: ASpace Odyssey,” died in Hert-fordshire, England, at age 70.

FFiivvee yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: FourteenPalestinians were killed in thedeadliest Israeli raid in Gaza in17 months. An investiture cere-mony was held in Concord, N.H.,for V. Gene Robinson, the Epis-copal Church’s first openly gaybishop.

OOnnee yyeeaarr aaggoo:: On the heels ofa gloomy report that 63,000 jobswere lost in February 2008, Pres-ident George W. Bush said “it’sclear our economy has slowed”as he tried to reassure an anx-ious public that the long-term

outlook was good. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Pow-er, who was acting as an adviserto Barack Obama, resigned aftercalling rival Hillary RodhamClinton “a monster.”

TTooddaayy’’ss BBiirrtthhddaayyss:: ComedianAlan Sues is 83. PhotographerLord Snowdon is 79. TV person-ality Willard Scott is 75. Auto rac-er Janet Guthrie is 71. ActorDaniel J. Travanti is 69. FormerWalt Disney Co. chief executiveofficer Michael Eisner is 67. Rockmusician Chris White (The Zom-bies) is 66. Actor John Heard is63. Rock singer Peter Wolf is 63.Golfer Tom Lehman is 50. TennisHall-of-Famer Ivan Lendl is 49.Actress Mary Beth Evans is 48.Actor Bill Brochtrup is 46. Operasinger Denyce Graves is 45. Co-median Wanda Sykes is 45.Singer-actress Taylor Dayne is44. Rock musician Randy Guss(Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 42.Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 38. Ac-tress Rachel Weisz is 38. ActressJenna Fischer is 35. Actress Au-drey Marie Anderson is 34.

TThhoouugghhtt ffoorr TTooddaayy:: “The mostdangerous creation of any socie-ty is that man who has nothing tolose.” — James Baldwin, Ameri-can author (1924-1987).

Photo by Chuck Burton | APLisa Pagan is shown with her husband, Travis, right, and her children Elizabeth, 4, and Eric, 3, at their home in Davidson, N.C.,on Feb. 27.After spending more than a year fighting her recall to active duty, the military has discharged her, according to thewoman’s lawyer.

The Zapata Times

Photo by Lisa Krantz/The San Antonio Express-News | APChris Daigle, right, a fifth generation descendant of the Crockett family, adjuststhe Crockett Family wreath after the Dawn at the Alamo ceremony in San Antonio,on Friday. The annual ceremony honors the 200 fallen Alamo defenders andnearly 600 Mexican troops killed or wounded in the battle of the Alamo.This yearmarks the 173rd anniversary of the world-famous battle.

THE ALAMO REMEMBERED

BY DORA MARTINEZ

Anna Holcomb is a graduateof Zapata High School who laterattended Laredo Junior College,where she studied accounting.

Her husband is Robert Hol-comb. They are the owners ofHawk Enterprises. Anna has ason, Lucas Lerma, who is 20years old. He’s attending TexasA&M International University,going for his business degree.

Anna Holcomb has been in-volved with the fair since 1994.This year, she’s the Zapata Coun-ty Fair Association president.She’s also involved with the TrailRide Committee, the VendorCommittee, Queen’s Committeeand the Treasurer’s Committee.An active civic leader, she alsohas served as president of theBooster Club and vice president

of the little league basketball andT-ball.

Holcomb is inviting everyoneto come celebrate the best littlefair in Texas. She said it’s notjust one celebration, but two,since it is also the 150th an-niversary of the founding of Za-pata County.

“What a fair, what a year,”she said. She noted that the Za-pata County Fair showcases ourcommunity at its best. Whetherit’s the exciting championshipsteer competition, the tradi-tional rodeo and charreada, the

food and rides along the mid-way or the glittering royalty ofthe Fair Queen and her court,we offer something for every-one.

Holcomb suggests that afteryou’ve made your way throughthe midway, you explore thetreasures that Zapata Countyhas to offer. Take a tour of his-torical San Ygnacio. visit ourrenowned Falcon Lake — don’tlet the big catch get away! — andenjoy the beauty of nature.

(Dora Martinez is a native ofZapata who was publisher ofHispanic News in San Antoniofor 21 years. She can be reachedat thezapatatimes@att.net)

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 3AZlocal SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

CAT IN THE HAT

Courtesy photoZapata North Early Childhood Center celebrated Read Across America Day on Friday, with a “We Love Books” parade, guest read-ers, classroom performances and even a special appearance by Dr. Seuss’ own Cat in the Hat. Dressed for the occasion, ZNECCLibrarian Belia Vela and her library assistant Maria Morales, center background, talk to their young charges lined up along the hallfloor before the parade starts.

Civic leader Holcomb takes reins of Zapata County Fair group

COLUMN

DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED Arron Antonio Landa was arrested

Friday, Feb. 27 at the intersection of 10thstreet and Falcon Avenue and charged withdriving while intoxicated. According to asheriff’s department report, Landa hadbeen driving around after officers hadwarned him against it earlier in the day. Jose Manuel Garcilazo was arrested

Wednesday, March 4, and charged with driv-ing while intoxicated on 7th Street around 9p.m.According to a sheriff’s deputy, Garcila-zo was driving failed to stop at a stop sign. Adrian Rodriguez was arrested on

Lincoln Street on Friday and charged withdriving while intoxicated.

POSSESSION Jose Luis Saenz was arrested and

charged with possession of marijuana inthe 800 block of Vista Hermosa around 8a.m. Thursday, March 5. According to re-ports, Saenz was caught with marijuana onthe school campus.

BURGALRYA burglary of a vehicle was reported

in the 1800 block of Medina Avenue on Fri-day, Feb. 27 around 8 p.m.The sheriff’s department responded

to reports of a burglary of a vehicle in the300 block of Kennedy Street on Monday,March 2 around 10 p.m.According to the re-port, an unknown person entered the vehi-cle and stole a Dell laptop, computer brief-case, portable printer, a buck knife, a GPSnavigation system, Cobra radar, safetyglasses and Ray Ban sunglasses.A burglary of a vehicle was reported

in the 1900 block of Alamo Street around 10a.m. Thursday, March 5. According to thecomplainant, an unknown person had bur-glarized the vehicle.Police responded to reports of a bur-

glary of a building on 24th Avenue on FridayFeb. 27 around 3 p.m.According to reports,an unknown person had vandalized thePavilion with a hard plastic pipe, damagingtwo doors and gaining entry.Aburglary of a habitation was reported

in the 5400 block of Pascual Lane around 9p.m. Friday, Feb. 27.According to the report, afemale complainant advised officers severalitems had been stolen from Siesta Shores.A burglary of a building was reported

in the 3000 block of U.S. 83 Monday, March2 around 5 p.m. According to the report, anunknown person had broken into the 83South Drive Inn.

ASSAULTPolice responded to reports of an as-

sault in the 3200 block of South Zapata Hwy.An assault causing serious bodily in-

jury was reported in the 400 block of VillaAvenue on Wednesday, March 3 around 5p.m. A man hit his father in the back of thehead, causing a welt the size of a golf ball,officers said. A teacher at the Zapata Middle

School reported two male juveniles had ap-proached her with a baseball bat Wednes-day, March 4, around 3 p.m. An aggravatedassault with a deadly weapon report wastaken, and no other information was avail-able at the time.

HIT AND RUN Police responded to reports of a hit

and run in the 1700 block of Ramireño Av-enue around 7 p.m. Saturday Feb. 28. Ac-cording to police, a juvenile was driving a go-cart with his father in the passenger seatwhen a man hit them to avoid hitting an-other vehicle A hit and run was reported in the

100 block of Ken’s Way on Thursday, March5 around 11 p.m. According to officers, aman reported his truck had been hit whileparked at his grandfather’s home.

THE BLOTTER CBP gives daylight

hoursSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

U.S. Customs and BorderProtection Port Director GeneGarza has announced CBP’sdaylight saving time hours ofoperation, which will becomeeffective Sunday.

Bridge officials in NuevoLaredo and Colombia, NuevoLeon, have agreed to adopt theU.S. daylight savings timeschedule until Mexico con-verts to daylight saving timeon April 5.

Gateway to the Americasand Lincoln-Juarez Bridges Passenger processing:

Open 24 hours a day SENTRI lane at Lincoln-

Juarez Bridge: Open 24 hoursa day

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

a sign of happiness& good health”

1520 Corpus Christi StreetTelephone (956) 726-0160

By DERRICK Z. JACKSON THE BOSTON GLOBE

Criminal justice will neversupplant the economy, war,or healthcare as a top pri-

ority, but when Attorney GeneralEric Holder called waterboardingtorture, it ought to have signaledmore than a reversal of a singularpolicy in the treatment of a fewsuspected terrorists. He said, “Toooften over the past decade, thefight against terrorism has beenviewed as a zero-sum battle withour civil liberties. Not only is thatthought misguided, I fear that inactuality it does more harm thangood.”

The big question is whetherthe Obama administration can re-balance the scales at home, wherethe corrosive underbelly of injus-tice is quiet terrorism. Considerthe prison boom that accompa-nied Draconian federal and statelaws, laws that became racist intheir application.

This week, the Pew Center onthe States released a report thatfound that states spent $47 billionon prisons last year, with spend-ing rising faster than that for ed-ucation. The spending continuesto rise, even as crime rates havefallen by 25 percent over the last20 years. States spend an averageof $29,000 annually on each pris-oner, 10 times what they spendon parolees and 23 times whatthey spend on those on probation.The great irony, of course, is that$29,000 is not only much morethan in-state college tuition, it ismore likethe annual cost of tu-ition at a private university.

The waste has reached a pointwhere in California, for instance,federal judges have ordered therelease of one-third of the state’s150,000 inmates because thehealth services available in thegrossly overcrowded system vio-late the constitution. At the be-ginning of the Reagan adminis-tration, one in 77 Americans wasin prison, on parole, or on pro-bation. Today the ratio is one in31, led by one in 13 adults inGeorgia and one in 18 in Idaho.Massachusetts ranks fifth at onein 24.

Huge percentages of the 1.5million people in prison, particu-larly African-Americans (one in11 African-Americans are undersome form of correction), are

there for nonviolent drug offens-es that call out not for barbedwire, but for treatment, education,and job opportunities. The Pewstudy found that nine of every 10corrections dollars went to pris-ons, not for rehabilitation pro-grams.

So it is no surprise that anoth-er report released this week byHuman Rights Watch found thatin every year since 1980, African-Americans have been arrested ondrug charges between 2.8 to 5.5times more, relative to the popu-lation, than white Americans.This is despite the long, conve-niently ignored fact that Ameri-cans consume illegal drugs atroughly their racial percentage ofthe national population. Drugpossession made up 64 percent ofdrug arrests, with annual per-centages reaching 80 percent inthe just-concluded Bush years.

Part of the reason this spunout of control is nearly threedecades of blind eyes and cow-ardice in the White House. Whatthe conservative administrationsof Reagan and the first PresidentBush started, President Clintoncontinued by capitulating to theconservative chorus in Congressin the 1990s to lock in laws thatpunished crack cocaine posses-sion far more harshly than pos-session of powdered cocaine.There was no hope for change un-der the second President Bush.

In a meeting with columnistsin 2007, Obama said the disparatecrack-to-powder laws were a“mistake.” He needs to tell Holderto work with Congress to rectifythe mistake. The warehousing ofthose arrested for drug posses-sion has been worse than a mis-guided zero-sum game with ourliberties. For the cost of privatecollege tuition per prisoner, wedo more harm than good, remov-ing tens of thousands of peoplefrom the path to productivity intheir communities.

Ironically, Holder created amild stir by saying America hasbeen a nation of cowards on race.While the statement was largelyneedless, given that the nationnow has a black president, he sud-denly has a huge say in eliminat-ing the most powerful symbol ofthe cowardice that remains. Theissue of American prisoners willtell us how brave Holder and Oba-ma will be.

OTHER VIEWS

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Rectifying a ‘mistake’ in sentencing

COLUMN

EDITORIAL

Charges key step in terror fight

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

By announcing criminalcharges last week againstAli al-Marri, the Obama

administration took an importantstep toward bringing the govern-ment’s terrorism-fighting effortswithin the rule of law.

Marri, a legal resident of theUnited States, has been held at theNavy brig in Charleston, S.C., formore than five years, having beendeclared an enemy combatant.

The move puts the govern-ment’s claims against Marriwhere they belonged: in a civiliancourt where the government willbe required to present its evi-dence and he can answer.

In their conference on Friday,the Supreme Court will considerthe Obama administration’s re-quest that the court dismiss asmoot Marri’s pending challengeto the government’s power to holdhim without charges or trial. Thejustices should decline.

Welcome though it is, the newadministration’s move stops shortof actually repudiating the fright-ening legal claim to justify hold-ing Marri — that the president hasthe power to order the military toseize legal residents or U.S. citi-zens and detain them indefinitely.

Legal filings leave open thepossibility the Obama adminis-

tration may decide to re-desig-nate Marri as an enemy combat-ant and resume his military de-tention, should it fail to win acriminal conviction.

A Supreme Court showdownover the enemy combatant policyis overdue. Three years ago, thecourt avoided ruling on the mat-ter. It declined the case of anoth-er enemy combatant, Jose Padilla,when the government made asudden turnaround and chargedhim in civilian court to dodgeSupreme Court review.

We do not expect Obama willfashion an ultra-imperial presi-dency. Nevertheless, the courtshould not feel comfortable aboutdismissing Marri’s case at thislate date, especially when thegovernment has not renouncedits claimed power to engage inthis unconstitutional conduct. Todo so would undermine the rem-edy of habeas corpus, as well astrust in the judicial process.

At the very least, the courtmust vacate the deeply flawed2008 decision by the 4th U.S. Cir-cuit Court of Appeals in Virginiathat upheld the dangerous exer-cise of authority. To dismiss theMarri appeal as moot and leavethe dreadful lower court rulingstanding as precedent would bean affront to Americans and theConstitution.

EDITORIAL

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVIVCE

Hillary Rodham Clintonput down the right mark-ers on her first Middle

East trip as secretary of state. Whatever the eventual com-

position of a new, and presum-ably more hawkish, governmentafter Israel’s last election, Clintonmade clear that America’s com-pelling interest lies in a two-statesolution anchored by a broad re-gional peace.

She advanced that interest byannouncing diplomatic re-en-gagement with Syria and strongAmerican support for the Pales-tinian Authority president, Mah-moud Abbas.

Coaxing Syria away from

Tehran would benefit Washing-ton, deepening Iran’s isolation onthe nuclear issue and encourag-ing Syrian cooperation in stabi-lizing Iraq.

It would benefit Israel, givingSyria greater incentives to cutoff arms flows to Hezbollah inLebanon. And it would benefitSyria, by providing the widerdiplomatic and economic open-ing Damascus has been seek-ing.

Israel’s likely next prime min-ister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is be-lieved to be more open to peacetalks with Syria than with thePalestinians, but peacemakingwith Syria is a supplement, not asubstitute, for peacemaking withthe Palestinians.

Abbas remains the key on thatfront, despite the weakness of hisFatah party. Fatah’s rival, Hamas,disqualifies itself so long as itpermits rocket fire and terrorismand against Israel and rejectspast agreements between Israeland the Palestinians.

Yet the widespread civiliansuffering in January caused byIsrael’s counteroffensive againstHamas in Gaza damaged Abbas’credibility as an effective defend-er of Palestinian interests. Wash-ington must convince Israelileaders to help rebuild it.

In the West Bank, that meansfreezing further settlement con-struction and expansion. Itmeans lifting roadblocks be-tween Palestinian cities and

towns that are not needed for se-curity. In East Jerusalem, itmeans stopping the humiliatingeviction of Palestinians. And inGaza, it means expanding excep-tions to the blockade to allow theimport of cement and recon-struction materials. These moveswill benefit Abbas more thanHamas, which feeds on Palestin-ian suffering.

Clinton said she raised thesepoints with Israeli leaders. Shewill need to keep raising them,and so will President BarackObama’s Middle East envoy,George Mitchell, who will returnto the region after a new Israeligovernment is in place.

Reviving American peace ef-forts is urgent.

Revising U.S. peace efforts is urgent

More positive action is required on finances

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 4AZopinion SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

COLUMN

In his big speech to Congresslast month, President BarackObama argued for bold steps

to fix America’s dysfunctionalbanks.

“While the cost of action willbe great,” he declared, “I can as-sure you that the cost of inactionwill be far greater, for it could re-sult in an economy that sputtersalong for not months or years,but perhaps a decade.”

Many analysts agree. Butamong people I talk to there’s agrowing sense of frustration,even panic, over Obama’s failureto match his words with deeds.

The reality is that when itcomes to dealing with the banks,the Obama administration isdithering. Policy is stuck in aholding pattern.

Here’s how the pattern works:First, administration officials,usually speaking off the record,float a plan for rescuing thebanks in the press. This trial bal-loon is quickly shot down by in-formed commentators.

Then, a few weeks later, theadministration floats a new plan.This plan is, however, just a thin-ly disguised version of the previ-ous plan, a fact quickly realizedby all concerned. And the cyclestarts again.

Why do officials keep offer-ing plans that nobody else findscredible? Because somehow, topofficials in the Obama adminis-tration and at the Federal Re-serve have convinced themselvesthat troubled assets, often re-

ferred to these days as “toxicwaste,” are really worth muchmore than anyone is actuallywilling to pay for them — and thatif these assets were properlypriced, all our troubles would goaway.

Thus, in a recent interviewTreasury Secretary Tim Geithn-er tried to make a distinction be-tween the “basic inherent eco-nomic value” of troubled assetsand the “artificially depressedvalue” that those assets com-mand right now.

In recent transactions, evenAAA-rated mortgage-backed se-curities have sold for less than40 cents on the dollar, but Geith-ner seems to think they’re worthmuch, much more.

And the government’s job, hedeclared, is to “provide the fi-nancing to help get those mar-kets working,” pushing the priceof toxic waste up to where itought to be.

What’s more, officials seem tobelieve that getting toxic wasteproperly priced would cure theills of all our major financial in-stitutions.

Earlier this week, BenBernanke, the Federal Reservechairman, was asked about theproblem of “zombies” — financialinstitutions that are effectivelybankrupt but are being kept aliveby government aid.

“I don’t know of any largezombie institutions in the U.S. fi-nancial system,” he declared, andwent on to specifically deny thatAIG — AIG! — is a zombie.

This is the same AIG that, un-able to honor its promises to payoff other financial institutionswhen bonds default, has alreadyreceived $150 billion in aid andjust got a commitment for $30billion more.

The truth is that theBernanke-Geithner plan — theplan the administration keepsfloating, in slightly different ver-sions — isn’t going to fly.

Take the plan’s latest incar-nation: a proposal to make low-interest loans to private investorswilling to buy up troubled assets.This would certainly drive up theprice of toxic waste because itwould offer a heads-you-win,tails-we-lose proposition. As de-scribed, the plan would let in-vestors profit if asset prices wentup but just walk away if pricesfell substantially.

But would it be enough tomake the banking systemhealthy? No.

Think of it this way: By usingtaxpayer funds to subsidize theprices of toxic waste, the admin-istration would shower benefits

on everyone who made the mis-take of buying the stuff.

Some of those benefits wouldtrickle down to where they’reneeded, shoring up the balancesheets of key financial institu-tions. But most of the benefitwould go to people who don’tneed or deserve to be rescued.

And this means that the gov-ernment would have to lay outtrillions of dollars to bring the fi-nancial system back to health,which would, in turn, both en-sure a fierce public outcry andadd to already serious concernsabout the deficit.

(Yes, even strong advocates offiscal stimulus like yours trulyworry about red ink.)

Realistically, it’s just not goingto happen.

So why has this zombie idea —it keeps being killed, but it keepscoming back — taken such a pow-erful grip? The answer, I fear, isthat officials still aren’t willingto face the facts.

They don’t want to face up tothe dire state of major financialinstitutions because it’s very hardto rescue an essentially insolventbank without, at least temporar-ily, taking it over. And temporarynationalization is still, apparent-ly, considered unthinkable.

But this refusal to face thefacts means, in practice, an ab-sence of action. And I share thepresident’s fears: Inaction couldresult in an economy that sput-ters along, not for months oryears, but for a decade or more.

PAUL KRUGMAN

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 5ASATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009ZlifeAngel Food Boxes: Dinner on a dime

Music legend Haggard to play LEC on Tuesday

Pitbull to bring Miamiheat to LEC on April 2

By KIRSTEN CROWLAREDO MORNING TIMES

Laredo Entertainment Cen-ter officials announced Wednes-day that the arena will be bring-ing reggaeton/Latin rap starPitbull — known for hits like“Shake,” “Toma,” “Go Girl” and“The Anthem” — to its stageThursday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m.

Joining Pitbull will be Hous-ton-based rapper Slim Thug, whois enjoying renewed popularitywith his single, “I Run,” and thetongue-in-cheek, self-proclaimed“Tamale Kingpin,” Chingo Bling.

The arena will be offering abuy-one, get-one free ticket deal atthe LEC box office from 10 a.m. to2 p.m. today.

In the past, the first 10 rowswere exempt from the deal, butthe arena is offering the buy-one,get-one free promotion for allrows of this concert.

LEC General Manager Roy

Medina said it was a strategicmove to ensure anyone from thecommunity could afford the con-cert, especially in light of the cur-rent economic conditions.

“We are opening it up to every-body,” he said. “It’s the most af-fordable show we’ve ever done.”

Ticket prices for the Pitbullconcert are $46, $36, $26 and $6,plus facility fees. Tickets are alsoavailable — without the promo-tion — via Ticketmaster and byphone at 712-1566.

As for the spat of hip-hopshows recently announced, Med-ina said the T.I. concert supportedthe idea that there was “a needthere nobody has ever tapped intobefore,” explaining that Laredo isnow a “proven market.”

“It opens the minds of the mu-sic industry that we can definite-ly support hip-hop,” he said.

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

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

If the question were asked:“Who forged the genre that isknown today as ‘modern countrymusic?’ ” only a tiny group ofcountry immortals could step for-ward to share the spotlight. One,out of that select handful, wouldbe Merle Haggard. Haggard maynot have been in the deliveryroom on the morning countrymusic was born; it simply seemslike he was. And you won’t hearanybody refer to him as the fa-

ther of country music. But manywill swear he’s at least its godfa-ther.

Presented by Big Buck Coun-try 98.1 and the Laredo Enter-tainment Center, that legend willperform at the Laredo Entertain-ment Center on Tuesday, March10, at 7:30 p.m. at the arena. Tick-ets are still available for $45, $35,$25 and $15, and may be pur-chased at the LEC Box office, allTicketmaster outlets, ticketmas-ter.com, or charge by phone at712-1566.

By TARYN WHITETHE ZAPATA TIMES

Cardboard boxes heaped withgastronomical delights includingfresh fruit, pre-planned meals anda little something sweet lined thetables at First United MethodistChurch on Saturday morningduring the church’s monthly foodpick-up of the “Angel Food Boxes.”

As the country sinks deeperinto recession and families of alleconomic backgrounds tightentheir belts and become more waryof opening their wallets, the box-es of food, part of FUMC’s AngelFood Ministry, may very well feelas though they were heaven-sent.

In the middle of every month,about 150 parishioners and com-munity members sign up to get amonth’s worth of groceries foronly $30. The food fits conve-niently in a cardboard box andcontains all the necessary foodgroups.

“This is restaurant-qualityfood; it’s not stuff no one elsewanted,” said Peter Aguilar, pastorat First United Methodist Church.“It’s a well balanced meal.”

The Angel Food Ministry,founded in 1994 in Georgia, is anational organization. Since its in-ception, the ministry’s popularityhas spread throughout churchesaround the country.

“The box will feed a single per-son for a full month and a familyof four for one week,” Aguilarsaid. “And it has everything youneed — it really is a smart box.”

Each box contains a differentmenu depending on the month,but with the same basic foods likeeggs, milk, bread and preparedmeals are included. A recentmenu boasted Salisbury steak,stuffed manicotti, corn muffinmix, country-fried beefsteak andmuch more. The boxes usuallycontain around 20 items.

As well as purchasing the basicfood box, customers are also wel-

come to purchase “specialty box-es,” which are smaller boxes con-taining specific foods.

The cut-off day to place an or-der for an Angel Food Box is thesecond Monday of every month,and the boxes arrive the last Sat-urday of the month. The programis open to everyone. First UnitedMethodist accepts cash, Lonestarcard and money orders.

For more information aboutupcoming menus and how to or-der an Angel Food Box, call FirstUnited Methodist Church at 722-1674 or visit angelfoodmin-istries.com.

(Taryn White may be reachedat 728-2568 or at twhite@lmton-line.com)

Photo by Rich Pedroncelli | APMerle Haggard poses at his ranch at Palo Cedro, Calif. Haggard says he’s on the mendafter successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung.

Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning TimesSt.Augustine High School student council members, from left, Lilian Martinez,Triana Gonzalez, Sara Renee Lara, Gerardo De La Garzaand Manuel Ortegon deliver boxes of food for participants of the Angel Food Ministries at the First United Methodist Church.

“This is restaurant-quality food; it’s not stuff no one else wanted.”

PASTOR PETER AGUILAR

Por MICHELLE ROBERTS ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN ANTONIO — La violen-cia del narcotráfico en Méxicose ha intensificado de tal formaque un número creciente depersonas a ambos lados de lafrontera con Estados Unidos es-tán protegiendo sus au-tomóviles con blindaje, cristalesa prueba de balas y dispositivosque parecen sacados de unapelícula de James Bond, comomanijas electrificadas para laspuertas y un artefacto que lanzauna cortina de humo al pre-sionar un botón.

Hasta fechas recientes, eranmás bien las estrellas cine-matográficas, los magnates em-presariales y los políticosquienes tomaban semejantesprecauciones. Pero ahora, segúnlos dirigentes de la industria, losconsumidores incluyen a losdueños de fábricas, médicos, ed-itores de diarios y otras per-sonas que tienen negocios enambos lados de la frontera ytemen por la ola de asesinatos,secuestros y asaltos a los au-tomóviles sumamente fre-cuentes en el norte de México.

“No hay que ser muy rico”para necesitar esto, consideróMark Burton, director generalde International Armoring Corp,con sede en Ogden, Utah. “Estoes casi una necesidad”.

Una compañía de San Anto-nio espera un crecimiento de50% en sus negocios este año.

Las modificaciones típica-mente cuestan entre 80.000 y100.000 dólares, y no sólo se re-alizan en limusinas, sino en au-tos Toyota o Honda, en furgone-

tas o en camionetas de pasajeros. “Creo que necesitamos meter-

nos en un capullo impenetrable”,dijo un empresario que tienefábricas en Texas y en CiudadJuárez, México. El empresariotiene dos Chevrolet Suburbanblindadas desde octubre del 2007.

La fuente solicitó permaneceranónima pues teme por la se-guridad de su familia después deque uno de sus hijos fue víctimade un intento de secuestro.

La guerra entre las autori-dades mexicanas y los cartelestraficantes de cocaína, marihua-na y metanfetaminas en el paíslatinoamericano ha dejado1.000 muertos tan sólo en lo queva del año. En el 2008, tan sóloen Ciudad Juárez, hubo más de1.100 asesinatos.

Las bandas criminales hanmatado a policías, militares yciviles desde Cancún, en elCaribe, hasta Tijuana, en lafrontera con California, mien-tras luchan por el control de lasrutas para el tráfico de estupe-facientes.

Los clientes del blindaje no sólolo solicitan para la carrocería, sinoque pueden adquirir tambiénneumáticos capaces de seguir ro-dando pese a encontrarse reven-tados, y cristales a prueba debalas, que se estrellan pero no serompen en pedazos, ni siquieracon el disparo de un fusil de asaltoAR-15, una de las armas predilec-tas de los narcotraficantes.

Otros consumidores compranun paquete que puede transfor-mar una furgoneta o vehículodeportivo-utilitario Ford F-150en algo más propio de unapelícula de Batman. Un botónemite una cortina de humo blan-co, que facilitaría el escapar enuna persecución.

Si ello no resulta, el conduc-tor puede esparcir clavos parareventar los neumáticos delperseguidor. Y si el atacante lle-ga al vehículo, las manijas elec-trificadas pueden darle unadescarga que no es letal.

Jorge Valencia, quien ha tra-bajado en el negocio de la se-guridad en México durante bue-na parte de las últimas dosdécadas, dijo que su compañíaadquirió su primer auto blinda-do a mediados de la década de1990 pero era principalmentepara los políticos y representabasobre todo una medida de pre-caución.

Actualmente, el peligro esmucho mayor, consideró, ydestacó que muchos secuestrosocurren incluso en lugarespúblicos.

“Las calles principales enCiudad Juárez tienen asesinos amediodía”, dijo Valencia, quienno quiere que el nombre de suempresa se mencione por temora poner en riesgo a sus clientes.

Las empresas que instalanpartes a prueba de balas hanvisto florecer también su nego-

cio en México. Pero algunos em-presarios, como el dueño de lafábrica en Ciudad Juárez, quienvive en Estados Unidos, consid-eran que es mejor el blindaje enEstados Unidos.

Bajo los términos de una reg-ulación del 2004, las empresasestadounidenses necesitan unalicencia de exportación del De-partamento de Comercio paraenviar al exterior un automóvilblindado. La regla busca im-pedir que los narcotraficantes yotros criminales adquieran esosvehículos.

Antes de la regla, Trent Kim-ball, director general de Texas

Armoring Corp, con sede en SanAntonio, ponía placas blindadasen vehículos para un consumi-dor que aseguraba ser hacenda-do. Después, Kimball debió tes-tificar durante el juicio de esecliente por tráfico de drogas.

Texas Armoring, que comenzóen la década de 1970, blindandolimusinas y otros vehículos paralos líderes mundiales, produjounos 100 automóviles con esascaracterísticas el año pasado yespera completar 150 este año,dijo Kimball.

(La periodista de la AP, AliciaA. Caldwell, contribuyó con estedespacho desde El Paso).

Actividades LAREDO — En celebración del

Año Internacional de la Astronomía, elPlanetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TexasA&M International University presen-tará un orador diariamente.“The Scaleand Contents of the Universe: Old StarsShed New Light on Dark Matter”, es elsábado 7 de marzo a las 7 p.m. presen-tando al astrónomo del ObservatorioMcDonald, Don Winget. Una fiesta envivo de astrología seguirá a la charla.Ambos eventos son gratuitos y abiertosal público. Más información llamando al326.2606. Igualmente, puede disfrutaren el planteraio “Stars of the Pharaohs”a las 5 p.m.; el estreno del nuevo es-pectáculo “Planet Quest”, a las 6 p.m.“Star Signs” a las 7 p.m. La entrada esde 5 dólares por adulto; los niños, estu-diantes de TAMIU, así como su person-al y exalumnos pagan 4 dólares.

Entretenimiento LAREDO — El martes 10 de mar-

zo se presenta Merle Haggard en el Lare-do Entertainment Center a las 7:30 p.m.Puede adquirir sus boletos en la taquil-la de LEC, Ticketmaster, en ticketmas-ter.com ó llamando al (956) 712-1566.

Deportes LAREDO — El domingo 8 de mar-

zo es el TAMIU Day en el Laredo Enter-tainment Center, cuando los LaredoBucks recibirán a los Corpus Christi Rayza las 4 p.m. Los boletos tienen costo de5 dólares para ex alumnos, estudiantes,maestros y personal de TAMIU, al pre-sentar una identificación de TAMIU en lataquilla del LEC. El precio regular se apli-ca al público en general. LAREDO — El sábado 7 de marzo,

el equipo de béisbol de Texas A&M In-ternational University recibirá a New-man University a las 11 a.m. y 1 p.m.; elsábado 7 de marzo, el equipo de softbólde Texas A&M International Universityrecibirá a Lincoln University a las 1 p.m.y 3 p.m.; el domingo 8 de marzo, elequipo de softból de Texas A&M Inter-national University recibirá a LincolnUniversity a las 12 p.m. y 2 p.m. Todoslos encuentros son en el campus uni-versitario. Los costos son de 5 dólarespara el público en general; 3 dólarespara estudiantes y gratis paracualquiera con identificación de TAMIU.

CulturaLAREDO — La actuación del 2009

Encanto Español – All Flamenco ShowStudent Scholarship Fundraiser es elsábado 7 de marzo y el domingo 8 demarzo a las 7 p.m.en el Laredo Little The-atre (4802 Thomas Ave.). La entrada porpersona es de 15 dólares. Participarántambién el TAMIU Classical Spanish Bal-let, Guitar Ensemble y Spanish Poetry. LAREDO — Las Series de Recital

de Órgano de Texas A&M InternationalUniversity continúa el domingo 8 demarzo con la presentación del organistaYounjung Yang, hoy a las 4 p.m. en elCenter for the Fine and Performing ArtRecital Hall. El evento es gratuito yabierto al público en general.

Servicio Social LAREDO — El sábado 7 de marzo

es la ceremonia de Freedom Salute quees la bienvenida oficial de la 436thChemical Company de Laredo que es-tuvo en Afganistán. La ceremonia de bi-envenida está prevista para las 10 a.m.en el Laredo Entertainment Center. Sesolicita a quienes asistan al evento ve-stir en colores rojo, blanco y azul. LAREDO — “Under The Umbrella

Camp” será los sábado 7, 14 y 28 demarzo, en dos sesiones para niños de 8-12 años (de 10 a.m. a 12 p.m.) para ado-lescentes de 13 a 18 años (de 1 p.m. a 4p.m.). El campamento es una recreaciónpara personas con necesidades espe-ciales (Diagnosticadso con ASD-Total-mente Independientes). El campamen-to será en el NE Hillside RecreationCenter (320 Wyoming). La cuota de re-cuperación es de 30 dólares. El espacioes limitado y puede reservarlo e el 795-3045 de 3 p.m. a 9 p.m. LAREDO — Una venta de libros se

llevará a cabo en el Widener Room de laFirst United Methodist Church, 1220McClelland Ave., de 8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m. elsábado 7 de marzo. El público está invi-tado, y la entrada es gratuita. Se acep-tan libros y revistas donadas. LAREDO — El Laredo Communi-

ty College invita a las audiciones parabecas de música a desarrollarse el sába-do 7 de marzo. Favor de llamar al 721-5330 para más información; ó reservesu lugar escribiendo a jdc@laredo.edu. LAREDO — El viernes 13 de mar-

zo se celebra Careers on Wheels Dayde las 9 a.m. a 11 a.m. en la C.L. MiltonElementary (2500 E. Ash / Esta-cionamiento por Montgomery).

El objetivo es crear atención sobrelas muchas oportunidades de profesióndisponibles al graduarse.

EN INTERNET: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 6ASÁBADO 7 DE MARZO DE 2009ZFronteraAGENDA 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

Foto por Eric Gay | APUn soldador prepara una parte de un vehículo para blindaje en la Texas Armoring enSan Antonio, el jueves. Debido al incremento de la violencia relacionada a los carte-les de droga en México, compañías americanas dicen que están viendo un incrementoen el número de carros que están siendo blindados.

Aumenta blindaje de automóviles

Ejército localizamás de 9 toneladas

de marihuanaPor MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Personal militar localizó 9 ½toneladas de marihuana dentrode una cisterna y desenterró 193mil 950 dólares en el poblado deGuardados de Arriba, Municipiode Miguel Alemán, a unos 100kilómetros al suroeste de NuevoLaredo.

La Secretaría de la DefensaNacional informó que efectivosmilitares del 16/o. Regimiento deCaballería Motorizado encon-traron la droga en una fincaabandonada.

Según comunicado de prensa,los soldados ejercían un re-conocimiento terrestre al sur delpoblado Guardados de Arriba yobservaron que al pie de un árbolse encontraba tierra removida.

Oficiales procedieron a cavar

en ese lugar, localizándoce untambo de 200 litros enterrado yen su interior una maleta quecontenía 193.950 dólares en bil-letes de diferentes denomina-ciones.

El personal militar establecióun perímetro de seguridad, a in-mediaciones del lugar del hallaz-go, para continuar reconocimien-tos radiales en el área.

El objetivo era localizar asospechosos que estuvieran próx-imos ó vigilando el contenido deltambo, según el comunicado deprensa de SeDeNa.

A unos 200 metros del lugaridentificaron una construcciónabandonada de la cual expedíaun fuerte olor a marihuana y pro-cedieron a revisar una cisternaque estaba desproporcionadaporque el tamaño no coincidíacon la loza externa.

Las modificaciones típicamente cuestanentre 80.000 y 100.000 dólares.

By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSONASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — The United AutoWorkers union said it expects tofinish voting Monday on conces-sions that would help Ford MotorCo. stay competitive with its De-troit-area counterparts receivingfederal aid.

At least two UAW unions re-jected the contract this week, butit is likely to be approved. Resultsare due Monday.

Workers at Local 892 in Saline,Mich., said “no” by 76 percent to24 percent. Members in Lima,Ohio, also rejected the modifica-tions.

But earlier this week, workersat one of Ford’s largest locals —Local 900 — approved the con-tract. The union in Wayne, Mich.represents 3,900 workers.

The contract freezes wagesand eliminates the “jobs bank”that pays workers most of theirwages while they’re laid off. The

agreement would also allow pay-ments to a union-run trust for re-tiree health care to be paid instock.

Some workers support thechanges because they will helpFord survive, but others are an-gry that it results in a loss ofpay and job protections. Agroup of Ford hourly workersand retirees has circulated aflyer urging members to voteagainst the contract, saying itresults in a loss of pay and jobprotections.

Ford, which is not seeking gov-ernment loans, reached an agree-ment with the UAW last month toamend its current contract.

General Motors Corp. andChrysler LLC are seeking simi-lar changes with their unionworkers, a requirement of the$17.4 billion the companies havereceived in federal aid so far. Thecompanies are still negotiatingwith the UAW, and no formalagreement has been reached.Chrysler and GM are required tobring their labor costs in line

with those of foreign auto com-panies’ plants in the U.S. Underterms of their loan agreements,progress must be made by March31.

GM and Chrysler are seekingan additional $21.6 billion in gov-ernment aid.

Shares of Ford fell 6.1 percent,or 11 cents, to close at $1.70 Friday.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 7A

Ford union vote to finish Monday

8A | THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

OBITUARIES

Wanda I. Vargas 45, passedaway Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009, atRetama Manor West Nursing Cen-ter in Laredo.

Mrs. Vargas is preceded indeath by her paternal grandpar-ents, Silvestre (Maria Luisa) Bus-tamante; maternal grandfather, Te-ofilo Vela; and father-in-law,Trinidad Vargas.

Mrs. Vargas is survived by herhusband, Almicar Vargas; son,Almicar Vargas Jr.; daughter, Arli-na Vargas; pet chihuahua, Rosie;parents, Silvestre Jr. (GuadalupeSocorro) Bustamante; brothers, Sil-vestre Bustamante, III, Eduardo(Dora) Bustamante; sisters, Myrna(Santiago Jr.) Hernandez, AnaMaria (Rudy Jr.) Bravo; grand-mother, Antonia S. Vela; mother-in-law, Manuela M. Vargas; and bynumerous uncles, aunts, nephews,nieces and many friends.

Visitation hours were heldSunday, March 1, 2009, from 6 to 9

p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession depart-ed Monday, March 2, 2009, at 9:45for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes Catholic Church.Committal services followed atBustamante Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to thefamily at www.rosegardenfuneral-home.com

Funeral arrangements were un-der the direction of Rose GardenFuneral Home, Daniel A. Gonza-lez, funeral director, 2102 Hwy. 83Zapata.

WWAANNDDAA II.. VVAARRGGAASS

Patricia Annette BankheadHanson born in Yoakum, age 65,passed away Saturday, Feb. 28,2009, at Doctor’s Hospital in Lare-do.

Mrs. Hanson is preceded indeath by her father O.W.Bankhead, mother Elsie Buckwal-

ter and brother, Kenneth FloydBankhead.

Mrs. Hanson is survived by herhusband, Duane Allen Hansonfrom Zapata, sister, Leota LynnBenbow from Katy; son, Joe D.Cliffe II from Goliad; daughter,Connie D. Brown from Victoria;stepchildren, Marjorie AlisonGunter from Bandera, Lorna Lar-raine Haynes from Corpus Christi,Duane Allen Hanson Jr. from Cor-pus Christi; niece, Christina Ben-bow from Katy; nephew, Troy Ben-bow from Katy; grandchildren,Marilyn Cliffe Guajardo andPamela Cliffe from Victoria,Nicholas Brown, Dylan Brown,and Trinity Brown from Victoria,Bradley Gunter Cody Gunter fromBandera, Shane Desha, BrandonHayes, Brittany Haynes, HaileyHanson, Heather Hanson fromCorpus Christi and great-grand-child, Audrianna Guajardo.

Pallbearers were Shane Desha,

Troy Benbow, Leonard Walker,Brad Gunter, Nicholas Brown, Dy-lan Brown and Cody Gunter.

Visitation hours were heldMonday, March 2, 2009, from 5 to6 p.m. with a service at 5:30 p.m. atRose Garden Funeral Home.

Burial followed at Yoakum. In lieu of flowers donations can

be made to The American CancerSociety.

Condolences may be sent to thefamily at www.rosegardenfuner-alhome.com

Funeral arrangements wereunder the direction of Rose Gar-den Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gon-zalez, funeral director, 2102 Hwy.83 Zapata.

PPAATTRRIICCIIAA AANNNNEETTTTEE BBAANNKKHHEEAADD HHAANNSSOONN

Zapata County, which re-ceived a $5,100 donation

Overall, ConocoPhillips hand-ed out more than $313,000 in do-nations to various organizations,including a $106,527 check to theUnited Way of Laredo.

“We will be using these do-nated funds for school uniformsfor our kids,” said Laura McCoy,Zapata County IndependentSchool District chief financialofficer.

“Just as an employee, know-ing that we have businesses thatare partnering in support of theeducation system in this com-munity means a lot. We all wantto support our kids and knowingConocoPhillips does, too, meansa lot as well.”

Anna Holcomb, president of

the Zapata County Fair Associa-tion, said the funds would beused at the organization’s auc-tion for children and their proj-ects.

“All the kids that participatein the stock show place theirnames into a drawing for prizesdonated by ConocoPhillips,” Hol-comb said.

“It means a lot to us rightnow, especially since everybodyseems to be going through thesehard, economic times and every-one is worried about their child’sprojects and how they’ll bedone,” she added. “By Cono-coPhillips giving these funds be-fore the Fair, they are sending abig message saying the oil field isstill here and we’re going to besupporting the community.”

The $106,527 donation fromConocoPhillips to United Way ofLaredo is part of an ongoing re-lationship between both organi-zations.

This donation covers part ofConocoPhillips’ pledge for 2008toward United Way of Laredo.The total amount raised for 2008was $424,000, and that includessupport from employees, the cor-poration, contractors and others.

“It felt great, especially inthese times, to give back,” saidRandy Black, ConocoPhillips’South Texas operations manager.“We’re able to continue a long-standing tradition of providingsupport to communities wherewe have employees that live andwork covering four counties inthe South Texas area.

AID | Continued from Page 1A

park every Christmas for 50needy children from Zapataschools.

“It started as me trying tohelp out a couple of studentsand everyone just got behind itand wanted to help,” Drum-mond said. “People probablyspend at least $50 each on giftsfor the kids.”

Winter Texans end up con-tributing a lot of their timeworking and volunteeringaround the city.

“They are all over town.It is easy to notice howmany more people arearound at churches and thepost office when they come,”Hatfield said. “Through theyears the numbers havegrown. It has probably dou-bled from when (WinterTexans) first started cominghere.”

GRANT | Continued from Page 1A

The fair is not only for en-tertainment purposes. Studentscraft all kinds of items that willhelp teach them lessons in con-sumerism, and they will be ableto enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The fair plays an “importantrole in the lives of these kids(and is) an opportunity for themto learn responsibility and makemoney for their college careers,”said Mendoza.

Mendoza said he hoped thatwith the help of the ad cam-paign and attractive Web sitecreated by Laredo ad agencyGrapititks, people from othercounties would attend.

“Graphitiks is putting theword out,” Mendoza said.“We’re looking forward to (therest of the fair).”

Inquiring minds have al-ready been calling the ZapataChamber of Commerce, re-questing information regardingthe events and how to become

involved.“We’ve get at least 30-35 calls

a day of people to get informa-tion on the fair,” Mendoza said.

Callers are often referred tothe Web site — www.zapata-countyfaironline.com — whichcontains a list of events and oth-er information.

So far, Mendoza said planningfor the rest of the fair’s eventshas been smooth sailing, and theparticipation level for the eventshas continued to increase.

“Everything has been fallinginto place,” said Mendoza.“Everybody is very excited. Weare hoping for a tremendousoutcome this year.”

With events already bring-ing in the crowds, the fair con-tinues to gain a great reputationand truly lives up to its title of“The Best Little Fair in Texas.”

“I think the fair seems to begetting better and better everyyear,” said Mendoza.

FAIR | Continued from Page 1A

district taxable land is appraised at, the number ofchildren who attend the district and the size of Zap-ata CISD’s special population or children who arelimited English speakers.

“The appraisal numbers will really only changehow much we pay to the state,” Rodriguez said. “Wewill still get the same amount.”

At this time, the Zapata appraisal district does notknow how the outcome of the comptroller’s ap-

praisal numbers will affect the county, according toAmada Gonzalez, Zapata County chief appraiser.

The deadline to file an appeal is March 11. Afterthat, formal hearings will begin in Austin, and the ap-praisal district will receive a letter stating approvalor denial of the appeal.

“If the comptroller’s appraiser doesn’t agree withour values, then we have to take it to the state court,”Gonzalez said. “Hopefully it won’t get that far.”

COUNTY | Continued from Page 1A

Gonzalez was undecided as to how the moneywould be spent, but was positive that the grantwould help Zapata in its fight against border vio-lence and drug smuggling.

“We would certainly appreciate (the money),said Gonzalez, “In all probability it will be used forequipment … trying to prevent drug use, drug ap-prehensions … (and) border security …. (or) Allcrimes with a nexus towards border security, masbein,” added Gonzalez.

Cuellar was excited for the grant to be put in toaction as soon as possible, and was sure that themoney would have two positive outcomes.

“In today’s challenging economic times, these fundswill help strengthen the economy and protect the resi-dents of Zapata County,” Cuellar said. “This money pro-vides law enforcement officers the support they need todo their jobs as effectively and safely as possible.”(Erika Lambreton can be reached at 728-2567 or e-mail erika@lmtonline.com)

Continued from Page 1A

WARM

Sports&OutdoorsThe Zapata Times

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COMSATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

Big 12 starting spring practice

Girls run at B. OlympicsBy CLARA SANDOVALSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata girl’s track teamis ready for the Border Olympicsin Laredo that started Friday.

Coach Luis Alaniz takes overthe girls track program after thedeparture of coach Juan Villar-real, who moved over to becomethe boy’s basketball coach.

Alaniz has been an assistantgirls track coach for the LadyHawks since 1996.

His coaching staff consists ofMike Villarreal and Rosie Villar-real, who predominately focus onthe long distance and field events.

Alaniz coaches the sprintersand the short distances.

He welcomes back 14 region-al qualifiers from last year’s dis-trict championship team thatedge out Raymondville for the ti-tle.

The race for the title camedown to the last event of theevening, the mile relay. The LadyHawks came in second in front ofRaymondville and clinched thedistrict title.

The Lady Hawks will be ledby sophomores Brandi King andLauren Mendoza, who qualifiedto the regional meet in Kingsvillein four events as freshmen.

In the field events, Alaniz willreturn Tessa Moss (pole vault),King (high jump) Lauren Men-doza (pole vault), Adriana Peña(shot putt) and Katherine Gar-cia (discus).

The 4x100-meter relay teamconsist King, Clarissa Solis, Alex-is Garcia.

The 800-meter relay teamwelcomes back all four relaymembers, King, Alexis Garza,Marisol Garcia and Amber Guz-man,

The Lady Hawks also returnall four members of the runner-up 1600-meter relay team withMartinez, Mendoza, A. Garcia

and Kristy Garcia.In the middle distance Mar-

tinez and Mendoza will led thepack in the 800 meter run whileA. Garza runs the 400 meter run.

Solis will lead all sprinterswith the 100 and 200 meter run.King will also lend a hand at the100-meter run.

Michelle Garcia, who thispast cross-country season tookthe Lady Hawks all the way to thestate meet, will lead the long dis-tance events. Garcia qualified inthe 1600-meter run and the3200-meter run. She will get a

Owen’s agent sees new team quickly

Yang leads Honda Classic at midpointBy TIM REYNOLDSASSOCIATED PRESS

PALM BEACH GARDENS,Fla. — To say Y.E. Yang has hadan erratic career would be put-ting it mildly.

He beat Tiger Woods to winthe HSBC Champions in 2006.Three weeks later, he finishedwell out of contention at Q-School. And he got disqualified

when trying to defend his title atShanghai, because someone fol-lowing play on the Internet no-ticed his scorecard was incorrect.

And now, the latest upswingfor Yang: He’s the leader midwaythrough the Honda Classic.

Yang shot a bogey-free roundof 5-under 65, moving to 7 underthrough two rounds at PGA Na-tional. The South Korean was oneshot ahead of Will MacKenzie

(67), Jeff Overton (67) andRobert Allenby (68).

“Prior to my win at the HSBCChampions in 2006, people inKorea knew me ... but outside ofKorea, people really didn’t knowme at all,” Yang said through aninterpreter. “But after beatingTiger at the HSBC, people start-ing recognizing me, not only inKorea but outside as well. To bementioned in the same context as

Tiger, it’s very honorable.” Of the top 21 players on the

leaderboard, only MacKenzieand Stewart Cink have PGA Tourwins since 2006.

A who’s-who leaderboard? More people were probably

saying “Who’s he?” “It just goes to show how

much better, more competitive

By JAIME ARONASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — Terrell Owens’agent predicts the well-traveledreceiver will find a new team bythe end of next week.

Owens is back on the marketafter being released by the DallasCowboys.

“There are several teams thatare interested in signing Ter-rell,” agent DrewRosenhauswrote in a textmessage Friday toThe Associated Press.“I have been in negotia-tions with these teams. Iwill not identify theseteams at this time. Ter-rell and I expect tohave a deal in place bythe end of next week if not sooner.”

Owens is among the NFL’s ca-reer leaders in catches, yards andtouchdowns. But the Cowboys arethe third team to get rid of him be-cause of his divisiveness. He leftafter eight seasons with the 49ersand two with the Eagles. There’sspeculation the Raiders or Red-skins, among other teams, mightbe interested in him.

The Cowboys cut him Thurs-day after three seasons. While hison-field performances were quitegood, his behavior off the field —

and sometimes on the sidelineand in the huddle — made Owenstoo much of a distraction for teamowner Jerry Jones.

“In the aftermath of the sea-son, we talked about change,”Jones said in a statement. “Someof what is changing involves theprocess and some of it involves

people. This is a decision thatwas made based upon consid-

eration for an entire team. “We will move on

now with anew team — a

new attitude — andinto a new stadium.

The evaluation processand the prospect forchange will continue atevery level of the or-ganization.”

So Owens won’t get a chanceto thrill crowds in the Cowboys’new home this year. Nor will heget a chance to turn off his team-mates with his histrionics.

Owens released a statementon his Web site thanking Jones,coach Wade Phillips and the or-ganization for “the opportunity tobe a member of the team for thepast three years.”

“A big thanks to the fans —you’ve been awesome! I look for-ward to the upcoming season and

ASSOCIATED PRESS

What to watch for duringspring practice around the Big 12:

BBaayylloorr ((44--88))Practice started: March 2.Spring game: April 2 (con-

trolled scrimmage at new prac-tice complex).

All eyes on: Who will protectQB Robert Griffin? As a fresh-man last season, Griffin had2,934 total yards and 28 touch-downs (2,091 yards and 15 TDspassing, with 843 yards and 13TDs rushing) but the key startersgone are OTs Jason Smith andDan Gay, both of whom started atleast 34 games. Smith is a pro-jected top-five NFL pick. Baylorlost four games by a touchdownor less with Griffin, who justturned 19 last month, and lead-ing receiver Kendall Wright, alsoa freshman.

CCoolloorraaddoo ((55--77))Practice starts: March 31.Spring game: April 25.All eyes on: Cody Hawkins

and Tyler Hansen alternated lin-ing up at quarterback midwaythrough last season, giving theBuffaloes a running and throw-ing threat. The problem was, op-ponents were tipped off to whatthe Buffaloes were scheming.Hawkins was the passer, throw-ing for 1,892 yards and 17 touch-downs. Hansen gave the Buffs aburst of speed, scampering for261 yards. The Buffs may look tohone the platoon system in 2009,

or could opt for a different plan.Coach Dan Hawkins recruitedJosh Moten and Clark Evans tocampus, with a chance at thequarterback job.

IIoowwaa SSttaattee ((22--1100))Practice starts: March 24.Spring game: April 18.All eyes on: Iowa State enters

spring practice with its thirdcoach in four seasons. PaulRhoads, hired to replace GeneChizik in December, will usespring ball to establish his phi-losophy and expectations of theCyclones, many of whom werereeling following Chizik’s abruptdeparture. New offensive coordi-nator Tom Herman will begin im-plementing a pass-orientedspread offense with quarterbackAusten Arnaud.

KKaannssaass ((88--55))Practice starts: March 9.Spring game: April 11.All eyes on: The offense is set:

QB Todd Reesing is back and soare nearly all of his receivers.What the Jayhawks need is tofind defensive help after rankingnear the bottom of the Big 12 inpass defense. Coach MarkMangino pulled together one ofthe best recruiting classes inschool history, including 14 de-fensive players. Defensive backsBradley McDougald — who’llalso likely play some receiver —and Prinz Kande could have animpact right away.

See BIG 12 | PAGE 2B

See TO | PAGE 2B

See RUN | PAGE 2B

See CLASSIC | PAGE 2B

CAPTAINS FLYING HIGH

Photo by Ricardo Segovia | The Zapata TimesThis year’s Zapata Lady Hawks softball captains are, from left to right, Mayra Alaniz, Linda Leyva and Tessa Moss.

Softball team rolls to six wins during non-district playBy CLARA SANDOVALSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Coach Jaime Garcia knew a tough pre-district schedule was going to be the key tothe Lady Hawks success down the road.

At the week’s end he has his LadyHawks flying high with a6-4 pre-district record.

The Lady Hawks trav-eled to a tough tourna-ment and had their bestouting in recent memory.

They faced two formi-dable opponents in Roma and United andcame away with a win and a loss.

First on Garcia’s list for the Lady Hawkspre-district schedule was the Mission Tour-nament. The Lady Hawks traveled to Mis-sion on Feb. 19 to compete in the 15th An-nual Mission Fast Pitch Festival.

Thirty-two teams competed in the three-day softball tournament that included nineof the top 10 valley teams.

The Lady Hawks walked away with a 1-2 record and were in the mix of things dur-ing every game.

Coach Jaime Garcia was pleased with

his team’s overall performance and saw theLady Hawks improve dramatically on theirdefense and pitching.

“Overall we did well but we just need topolish up on our hitting,” Garcia said. “It isjust a matter of putting everything togeth-er. In softball it is a matter of getting hot atthe right time. I am very proud of the girlsand hopefully we can continue.”

In their opening game Thursday theLady Hawks faced the number eight teamin the Rio Grande Valley, PSJA North.

The Lady Raiders jumped to a 4-0 leadheading to the final inning. They scoredfour more runs for an 8-0 victory.

Zapata’s Amanda Sanchez recorded theonly hit for the Lady Hawks.

The Lady Hawks rebounded to beat Ed-inburg Economedes 2-1.

Zapata was led at the plate by TessaMoss, Crystal Del Bosque and Ashley Mar-tinez, who each had a hit.

Martinez was credited with one RBI.Moss and Cassandra Quintanilla scored

a run apiece and that is all that they wouldneed to seal the victory.

In the second game of the day the LadyHawks faced Corpus Christi Ray.

Zapata was ahead the majority of thegame but the Lady Texans scored two lateruns to come away with a 2-1 victory.

Mayra Alaniz led the Lady Hawks withtwo hits. Tessa Moss and Angela Ramirezhad one each.

Ashley Martinez had one RBI.Leyva was the workhorse for the Lady

Hawks on the mound as she pitched allthree games. She had 10 strikeouts.

“It is just a matter of putting everything

together. In softball it is amatter of getting hot at

the right time. I am veryproud of the girls .”

COACH JAIME GARCIA

See SOFTBALL | PAGE 2B

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2BSATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009

CCHHLLNNOORRTTHHEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

NNoorrtthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

x-Mississippi 38 14 3 79 208 139x-Bossier-Shreveport35 16 4 74 173 144

x-Oklahoma City 33 16 7 73 176 142

Tulsa 16 31 8 40 151 230

NNoorrtthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

y-Colorado 39 13 4 82 235 171

x-Rocky Mountain 30 23 4 64 190 184

Rapid City 19 29 8 46 158 198

Wichita 19 34 3 41 146 195

SSOOUUTTHHEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

SSoouutthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

x-Texas 37 13 5 79 197 153

x-Laredo 31 19 5 67 192 166

Rio Grande Valley28 22 5 61 192 176

Corpus Christi 24 27 5 53 164 187

SSoouutthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTTLL PPttss GGFF GGAA

y-Odessa 33 16 6 72 223 174

Arizona 24 29 4 52 201 234

New Mexico 23 31 2 48 192 222

Amarillo 16 36 3 35 165 248

x-clinched playoff spot

y-clinched division

NOTE: Two points are awarded for a win, one

point for loss in overtime or shootout. Overtime or

shootout losses are only denoted in the OTL column,

not the loss column.

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Oklahoma City 3, Wichita 1

Rocky Mountain 4, Colorado 3

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Oklahoma City at Amarillo

Wichita at Bossier-Shreveport

Laredo at Odessa

Corpus Christi at Texas

Mississippi at Tulsa

Rio Grande Valley at Arizona

Rocky Mountain at Colorado

Rapid City at New Mexico

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Rocky Mountain at Amarillo

Mississippi at Bossier-Shreveport

Odessa at Texas

New Mexico at Oklahoma City

Wichita at Tulsa

Rio Grande Valley at Arizona

Rapid City at Colorado

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Corpus Christi at Laredo

Mississippi at Odessa

NNBBAAEEAASSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

AAttllaannttiicc

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

x-Boston 48 14 .774 —

Philadelphia 29 30 .492 17½

New Jersey 27 34 .443 20½

New York 25 35 .417 22

Toronto 23 39 .371 25

SSoouutthheeaasstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Orlando 44 16 .733 —

Atlanta 34 27 .557 10½

Miami 32 28 .533 12

Charlotte 26 35 .426 18½

Washington 14 47 .230 30½

CCeennttrraall

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

x-Cleveland 48 12 .800 —

Detroit 30 29 .508 17½

Milwaukee 29 35 .453 21

Chicago 28 34 .452 21

Indiana 27 37 .422 23

WWEESSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

SSoouutthhwweesstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

San Antonio 40 20 .667 —

New Orleans 38 22 .633 2

Houston 39 23 .629 2

Dallas 37 25 .597 4

Memphis 16 44 .267 24

NNoorrtthhwweesstt

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

Denver 40 22 .645 —

Portland 38 23 .623 1½

Utah 38 23 .623 1½

Minnesota 18 42 .300 21

Oklahoma City 16 45 .262 23½

PPaacciiffiicc

WW LL PPcctt GGBB

L.A. Lakers 49 12 .803 —

Phoenix 34 27 .557 15

Golden State 21 40 .344 28

L.A. Clippers 15 47 .242 34½

Sacramento 13 49 .210 36½

x-clinched playoff spot

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

New Orleans 104, Dallas 88

Denver 106, Portland 90

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Miami at Toronto, 7 p.m.

New Jersey at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Cleveland at Boston, 8 p.m.

Golden State at Detroit, 8 p.m.

Phoenix at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Washington at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Denver at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Miami at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

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

Philadelphia at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Oklahoma City at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

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

Washington at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Portland, 10 p.m.

Indiana at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Utah at Toronto, 12:30 p.m.

Orlando at Boston, 1 p.m.

Phoenix at San Antonio, 3:30 p.m.

New York at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Houston, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Denver at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

NNHHLLAAllll TTiimmeess EEaasstteerrnn

EEAASSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

AAttllaannttiicc DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

New Jersey 42 19 3 87 199 155

Philadelphia 34 19 10 78 203 185

N.Y. Rangers 33 24 8 74 163 177

Pittsburgh 34 26 6 74 202 198

N.Y. Islanders 20 37 7 47 156 210

NNoorrtthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Boston 42 14 9 93 218 148

Montreal 34 23 7 75 195 194

Buffalo 32 25 7 71 187 176

Toronto 26 26 13 65 195 231

Ottawa 24 29 10 58 159 184

SSoouutthheeaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Washington 40 21 5 85 216 195

Florida 33 24 8 74 182 182

Carolina 33 27 5 71 174 188

Tampa Bay 21 31 12 54 165 207

Atlanta 23 35 6 52 191 225

WWEESSTTEERRNN CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE

CCeennttrraall DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Detroit 43 14 8 94 242 189

Chicago 36 17 9 81 208 157

Nashville 33 28 4 70 169 179

Columbus 32 27 6 70 175 184

St. Louis 28 27 8 64 173 186

NNoorrtthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

Calgary 39 19 6 84 212 187

Vancouver 33 22 8 74 190 177

Edmonton 31 27 6 68 180 198

Minnesota 31 27 5 67 161 151

Colorado 28 36 1 57 173 207

PPaacciiffiicc DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL OOTT PPttss GGFF GGAA

San Jose 42 11 10 94 209 156

Anaheim 31 28 6 68 182 191

Dallas 30 26 8 68 187 197

Los Angeles 27 28 9 63 169 188

Phoenix 28 31 5 61 161 194

Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss

or shootout loss.

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Phoenix 2, Boston 1

Calgary 5, Philadelphia 1

Toronto 2, Washington 1

N.Y. Rangers 4, N.Y. Islanders 2

Ottawa 4, Edmonton 2

Pittsburgh 4, Florida 1

Nashville 4, Columbus 2

Minnesota 4, San Jose 3, OT

Los Angeles 5, Dallas 4, OT

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Calgary at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Montreal at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

St. Louis at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Chicago at Boston, 1 p.m.

New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders, 2 p.m.

Minnesota at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.

Buffalo at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Florida, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Nashville at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

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

San Jose at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Boston at N.Y. Rangers, 12:30 p.m.

Calgary at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Colorado at Chicago, 3 p.m.

Phoenix at N.Y. Islanders, 3 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Washington, 3 p.m.

Montreal at Dallas, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

MMLLBBSSpprriinngg TTrraaiinniinngg GGllaannccee

AAllll TTiimmeess EESSTT

AAMMEERRIICCAANN LLEEAAGGUUEE

WW LL PPcctt

Los Angeles 7 1 .875

Baltimore 7 2 .778

Minnesota 7 2 .778

Seattle 4 2 .667

Texas 5 3 .625

Detroit 5 4 .556

Chicago 5 5 .500

Oakland 4 4 .500

Toronto 4 4 .500

Kansas City 3 3 .500

Tampa Bay 4 5 .444

Cleveland 3 4 .429

Boston 3 6 .333

New York 2 6 .250

NNAATTIIOONNAALL LLEEAAGGUUEE

WW LL PPcctt

Atlanta 6 2 .750

Pittsburgh 7 3 .700

St. Louis 5 3 .625

Cincinnati 6 4 .600

Milwaukee 4 3 .571

New York 5 4 .556

Chicago 5 5 .500

Arizona 4 4 .500

Los Angeles 4 4 .500

Philadelphia 4 4 .500

San Francisco 4 5 .444

Washington 4 5 .444

San Diego 2 3 .400

Houston 2 5 .286

Florida 1 7 .125

Colorado 0 8 .000

NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings;

games against non-major league teams do not.

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Puerto Rico 9, Boston 5

USA 9, Philadelphia 6

Houston 7, Panama 5

Detroit 10, Washington 2

Baltimore 5, Florida 2

Cincinnati 10, Pittsburgh 6, 10 innings

Canada 6, N.Y. Yankees 0

Atlanta 8, Venezuela 4

Minnesota 4, Netherlands 2

St. Louis 4, Dominican Republic 1

N.Y. Mets 3, Italy 2

Texas 4, San Diego 3

Milwaukee 10, Australia 5

L.A. Angels 4, Seattle 2

Oakland (ss) 6, South Africa 1

Oakland (ss) 4, San Francisco 2

L.A. Dodgers 5, Chicago White Sox (ss) 4

Mexico 7, Colorado 3

Chicago White Sox (ss) 4, Chicago Cubs 3

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Boston 5, Florida 3

N.Y. Mets 5, St. Louis 4

Tampa Bay 8, Pittsburgh 5

Minnesota 3, Cincinnati 0

Baltimore 6, Washington 2

Mexico vs. Arizona at Tucson, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Seattle vs. Oakland at Phoenix, 3:05 p.m.

Colorado vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Texas vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz., 3:05

p.m.

Australia vs. Chicago White Sox at Phoenix, 3:05

p.m.

L.A. Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz.,

3:05 p.m.

Milwaukee vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, Ariz., 3:05

p.m.

San Francisco vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz.,

3:05 p.m.

Houston vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla., 7:05

p.m.

Philadelphia vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla., 7:05

p.m.

Detroit vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, Fla., 7:15

p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Baltimore vs. Florida at Jupiter, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Boston vs. Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte, Fla.,

1:05 p.m.

Cincinnati vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

St. Louis vs. Houston at Kissimmee, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Detroit vs. Philadelphia at Clearwater, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla.,

1:05 p.m.

Washington vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla.,

1:10 p.m.

Atlanta vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, Fla., 1:15

p.m.

Seattle vs. L.A. Dodgers at Phoenix, 3:05 p.m.

Oakland vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 3:05

p.m.

L.A. Angels vs. Arizona at Tucson, Ariz., 3:05

p.m.

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz.,

3:05 p.m.

Colorado vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale, Ariz.,

3:05 p.m.

Kansas City vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, Ariz.,

3:05 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Tampa Bay vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

N.Y. Mets vs. Washington at Viera, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Toronto vs. Cincinnati at Sarasota, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Florida vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Philadelphia vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Houston vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla., 1:05

p.m.

Minnesota vs. Baltimore at Fort Lauderdale,

Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Texas vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.

Cleveland vs. Oakland at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m.

Arizona vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.

Oakland vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale, Ariz.,

4:05 p.m.

San Francisco vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz.,

4:05 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox at Phoenix,

4:05 p.m.

Milwaukee vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz.,

4:05 p.m.

San Diego vs. Colorado at Tucson, Ariz., 4:10

p.m.

NNFFLL FFrreeee AAggeenntt SSiiggnniinnggss

ARIZONA CARDINALS— Signed Keith Lewis, S.

Re-signed Kurt Warner, QB; Ben Graham, P, and

Brian St. Pierre, QB.

ATLANTA FALCONS—Re-signed Chauncey

Davis, DE; and Michael Koenen p/k (f).

BALTIMORE RAVENS—Signed Domonique Fox-

worth, CB. Agreed to terms with Ray Lewis. LB; and

Matt Birk, C.

BUFFALO BILLS—Signed Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB;

Geoff Hangartner, OL. Agreed to terms with Drayton

Florence, CB.

CAROLINA PANTHERS—Re-signed Jordan

Gross, OT.

CHICAGO BEARS—Signed Frank Omiyale, OL.

CINCINNATI BENGALS—Re-signed Cedric Ben-

son, RB; Darryl Blackstock, LB; Chris Crocker, S,

and DeDe Dorsey, WR. Agreed to terms with Laver-

anues Coles, WR.

CLEVELAND BROWNS—Signed Robert Royal,

TE.

DALLAS COWBOYS —Signed Keith Brooking,

LB, and Matt Stewart, LB.

DENVER BRONCOS—Signed LaMont Jordan,

RB; J.J. Arrington, RB; Correll Buckhalter, RB; An-

dra Davis, LB; Brian Dawkins, S; Ronald Fields,

DT; Jabar Gaffney, WR; Andre’ Goodman, CB; Re-

naldo Hill, S; Lonie Paxton, FS; and Darrell Reid,

DT. Agreed to terms with Chris Simms, QB.

DETROIT LIONS—Signed Grady Jackson, DT,

and Phillip Buchanon, CB; Bryant Johnson, WR;

Eric King, CB; and Maurice Morris, RB. Re-signed

Jason Hanson, K; and Stephen Peterman, G.

HOUSTON TEXANS—Signed Antonio Smith, DE;

and Dan Orlovsky, QB. Re-signed Chris White, C;

and Eugene Wilson, S.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS—Re-signed Kelvin Hay-

den, CB; and Jeff Saturday, C.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS—Signed Sean Consi-

dine, S. Re-signed Brad Meester, C; and Scott Starks,

CB.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS—Agreed to terms with

C.J. Jones, WR.

MIAMI DOLPHINS—Signed Joe Berger, G; and

Jake Grove, C. Re-signed Vernon Carey, OT;

Yeremiah Bell, S; and Channing Crowder, LB.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS—Re-signed Jim Klein-

sasser, TE.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS—Signed Chris Bak-

er, TE; and Fred Taylor, RB. Re-signed Matt Cassel,

QB (f), and traded him to Kansas City; re-signed

Russ Hochstein, OL; James Sanders, S; Chris Han-

son, P; and LB Eric Alexander.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS—Signed Jabari Greer,

CB, and Heath Evans, FB. Re-signed Devery Hen-

derson, WR; Jon Stinchcomb, T; and Jonathan Vilma,

LB.

NEW YORK GIANTS—Signed C.C. Brown, S; Lee

Vickers, TE; Rocky Bernard, DT; Michael Boley,

LB; and Chris Canty, DE. Re-signed Brandon Jacobs,

RB (f); and David Carr, QB.

NEW YORK JETS—Signed Bart Scott, LB; and

Jim Leonhard, S. Re-signed Brandon Moore, G; Tony

Richardson, FB; and Jay Feely, K.

OAKLAND RAIDERS—Re-signed Nnamdi Aso-

mugha, DB; and Shane Lechler, P.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES—Signed Stacy An-

drews, OT. Re-signed Joselio Hanson, CB.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS—Re-signed Max

Starks, T (f); and Chris Kemoeatu, G.

ST. LOUIS RAMS—Signed Jason Brown, OL. Re-

signed Ron Bartell, CB.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS—Re-signed Kynan For-

ney, G.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS—Signed Damon Huard,

QB; and Brandon Jones, WR. Re-signed Takeo

Spikes, LB; Moran Norris, FB; and Allen Rossum,

CB-KR.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS—Signed T.J. Housh-

mandzadeh, WR; and Colin Cole, DT.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS—Signed Mike Nu-

gent, K; and Derrick Ward, RB. Re-signed Luke Mc-

Cown, QB; WR Michael Clayton; Jermaine Phillips,

S; Jerramy Stevens, TE; Cortez Hankton, WR.

TENNESSEE TITANS—Signed Nate Washington,

WR; and Jovan Haye, DT.

Re-signed Rob Bironas, K; Justin McCareins,

WR; Kerry Collins, QB; and Vincent Fuller, DB.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS—Signed Derrick

Dockery, G; Albert Haynesworth, DT; and Dirk John-

son, P. Re-signed Ethan Albright, LS; and DeAngelo

Hall, CB.

f-franchise player

RReemmaaiinniinngg UUnnrreessttrriicctteedd FFrreeee AAggeennttss

Unsigned free agents with more than four years of

NFL experience:

ARIZONA — Monty Beisel, LB; Bertrand Berry,

DE; Elton Brown, OL; Ralph Brown, CB; Karlos

Dansby (f); Eric Green, CB; Clark Haggans, LB;

Scott Peters, OL; Terrelle Smith, FB; Jerame Tu-

man, TE.

ATLANTA — Wayne Gandy, OT; Tony Gilbert,

LB; Jason Jefferson, DT; Lawyer Milloy, S; Marcus

Pollard, TE; Coy Wire, LB.

BALTIMORE — Kyle Boller, QB; Todd Bouman,

QB; Terrance Copper; Corey Ivy; CB; Lorenzo Neal,

FB; Chad Slaughter, OL; Matt Stover, K; Terrell

Suggs, DE/LB (f); Daniel Wilcox, TE.

BUFFALO — Kirk Chambers, OL; Angelo Crow-

ell, LB; Melvin Fowler, OL; Teddy Lehman, LB; J.P.

Losman, QB; Corey McIntyre, RB; Duke Preston,

OL; Jason Whittle, OL.

CAROLINA — Donte’ Curry, LB; Mark Jones,

WR/KR; Jason Kyle, LB; Julius Peppers, DE (f);

Adam Seward, LB; Darwin Walker, DT.

CHICAGO — Mike Brown, S; Rex Grossman, QB;

Kevin Jones, RB; Brandon Lloyd, WR; Darrell Mc-

Clover, LB; Brandon McGowan, S; Fred Miller, OL;

John St. Clair, OL; Cameron Worrell, S.

CINCINNATI — Jamar Fletcher, CB; Eric

Ghiaciuc, OL; Shayne Graham (f); John Thornton,

DT.

CLEVELAND — Mike Adams, S; Travis Daniels,

CB; Darnell Dinkins, TE; Lennie Friedman, G/C;

Kris Griffin, LB; Daven Holly; CB; Sean Jones, S;

Willie McGinest, LB; Seth McKinney, G; Shantee

Orr, LB; Jason Wright, RB; Scott Young, OL.

DALLAS — Brooks Bollinger, QB; Kevin Burnett,

LB; Keith Davis, S; Tank Johnson, DT; Carlos Polk,

LB; Zach Thomas, LB.

DENVER — Tatum Bell, RB; Ebenezer Ekuban,

DE; Darrell Jackson, WR; Marlon McCree, S; Tom

Nalen, C; Karl Paymah, CB; Kenny Peterson, DE;

Michael Pittman, RB; Jeb Putzier, TE; Patrick Ram-

sey, QB; Edell Shepherd, DB; Nate Webster, LB.

DETROIT — Aveion Cason, RB; Shaun Cody,

DT; Keary Colbert, WR; Damion Cook, OL; George

Foster, OT; Rudi Johnson, RB; Paris Lenon; LB;

Andy McCollum, G/C; Shaun McDonald, WR;

Langston Moore, DT; Ryan Nece, LB; John Owens,

TE; Stanley Wilson, CB.

GREEN BAY — Mike Montgomery, DE; Mark

Tauscher, T.

HOUSTON — Mark Bruener, TE; DeMarcus

Faggins, CB; Nick Ferguson, S; Scott Jackson, OL;

Bryan Pittman, OL; Dunta Robinson; CB (f); Cecil

Sapp, RB; Jimmy Williams CB; Jeff Zgonina, DT.

INDIANAPOLIS — Matt Giordano, S; Tyjuan Ha-

gler, LB; Keiwan Ratliff, CB; Dominic Rhodes, RB;

Hunter Smith, P; Josh Thomas, DE.

JACKSONVILLE — Khalif Barnes, T; Chris Nae-

ole, G; Mike Peterson, LB; Pierson Prioleau, S; Ger-

ald Sensabaugh, S; Reggie Williams, WR.

KANSAS CITY — Jason Babin, LB; Rocky

Boiman, LB; Oliver Celestin, S; Adrian Jones, G; Jon

McGraw, S; Patrick Thomas, LB.

MIAMI — Al Johnson, C; Tab Perry, WR; Derek

Smith, LB.

MINNESOTA — Kenderick Allen, DT; Michael

Boulware, S; Heath Farwell, LB; Napoleon Harris,

LB; Marcus Johnson, T; Jimmy Kennedy, DT; Ben-

ny Sapp, CB; Darren Sharper, S; Dontarrious

Thomas, LB; Ellis Wyms, DT.

NEW ENGLAND — Rosevelt Colvin, LB; Rodney

Harrison, S; Larry Izzo, LB; Deltha O’Neal, CB;

Lewis Sanders, CB; Junior Seau, LB; Kenny Smith,

DT; Barry Stokes, OL; Tank Williams, S; Mike

Wright, DT.

NEW ORLEANS — Josh Bullocks, S; Mark

Campbell, TE; Aaron Glenn, CB; Martin Gramatica,

K; Joey Harrington, QB; Terrence Holt, S; Antwan

Lake, DT; Mike Lehan, CB; Matt Lehr, G; James

Reed, DT; Aaron Stecker, RB.

N.Y. GIANTS — James Butler, S; John Carney,

K; Jerome McDougle, DE; R.W. McQuarters,

CB/KR; Grey Ruegamer, G/C; Rich Scanlon, LB;

Amani Toomer, WR; Anthony Wright, QB; Renaldo

Wynn, DL.

N.Y. JETS — Eric Barton, LB; Ahmad Carroll,

CB; Jesse Chatman, RB; Bubba Franks, TE; Ty

Law, CB; C.J. Mosley, DT; Hank Poteat, CB; J.R.

Reed, S; Cody Spencer, LB.

OAKLAND — Rashad Baker, S; Cooper Carlisle,

G; Drew Carter, WR; Isaiah Ekejiuba, LB; William

Joseph, DT; Ashley Lelie, WR; Justin Miller, CB;

Marques Tuiasosopo, QB; Sam Williams, LB.

PHILADELPHIA — Jon Runyan, T; L.J. Smith,

TE; Tra Thomas, T.

PITTSBURGH — Charlie Batch, QB; Mitch Berg-

er, P; Fernando Bryant, CB; Trai Essex, OL; Ke-

yaron Fox, LB; Andre Frazier, LB; Byron Leftwich,

QB; Bryant McFadden, CB; Orpheus Roye, DE;

Marvel Smith, T.

ST. LOUIS — Oshiomogho Atogwe, S (f); Fakhir

Brown, CB; Jason Craft, CB; Anthony Davis, OL; La’

Roi Glover, DT; Adam Goldberg, G; Brandon Gorin,

OL; Dante’ Hall, WR/KR; Nick Leckey, OL; Dane

Looker, WR; Ricky Manning Jr., CB; Travis Minor,

RB; Eric Moore, DE; Rob Pettiti, OL; Brett

Romberg, OL; Gary Stills, LB; Cory Withrow, OL.

SAN DIEGO — Mike Goff, G; Marques Harris,

LB; Jeremy Newberry, C; Igor Olshansky, DE; Dar-

ren Sproles, RB/KR (f).

SAN FRANCISCO — Billy Bajema, TE; Damane

Duckett, DT; DeShaun Foster, RB; Roderick Green,

DE; Jamie Martin, QB; J.T. O’Sullivan, QB; Sean

Ryan, TE; Donald Strickland, CB.

SEATTLE — Bobby Engram, WR; Charlie Frye,

QB; Chris Gray, G; Howard Green, DT; Will Heller,

TE; Leroy Hill, LB (f); D.D. Lewis, LB; Wesly Mal-

lard, LB; Steve McKinney, G; Jeff Robinson, TE; Ko-

ren Robinson, WR; Leonard Weaver, FB; Ray Willis,

T; Floyd Womack, T.

TAMPA BAY — Will Allen, S; Antonio Bryant,

WR (f); Kevin Carter, DE; Patrick Chukwurah, LB;

Jeff Garcia, QB.

TENNESSEE — Chris Carr, CB/KR; Craig Hen-

trich, P; Reynaldo Hill, CB; Daniel Loper, OL; Justin

McCareins, WR; Tyrone Poole, CB; Bo Scaife, TE (f).

WASHINGTON — Ryan Boschetti, DT; Khary

Campbell, LB; Phillip Daniels, DE; Demetric Evans,

DE; Jason Fabini, OL; Alfred Fincher, LB; Mike

Green, S; Pete Kendall, G.

TTrraannssaaccttiioonnssBBAASSEEBBAALLLL

AAmmeerriiccaann LLeeaagguuee

KANSAS CITY ROYALS—Named David Laver-

entz vice president-finance and administration.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS—Agreed to terms with

INF Orlando Cabrera and INF Nomar Garciaparra

on one-year contracts. Sent INF Yung-Chi Chen out-

right to Sacramento (PCL).

NNaattiioonnaall LLeeaagguuee

LOS ANGELES DODGERS—Assigned LHP Greg

Miller, RHP Justin Orenduff, LHP Jacobo Meque,

RHP Ronald Belisario, and RHP Yhency Brazoban to

their minor league camp.

AAmmeerriiccaann AAssssoocciiaattiioonn

SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS—Signed C Andrew

Franco.

GRAND PRAIRIE AIRHOGS—Traded OF Drew

Holder to Wichita for RHP Gustavo Mata.

WICHITA WINGNUTS—Signed RHP Tyler Rho-

den and LHP Nathan Parker. Acquired RHP Derek

Blacksher from Gateway (Frontier) for a player to be

named.

CCaann--AAmm LLeeaagguuee

BROCKTON ROX—Signed C Jeff R. Stevens.

BBAASSKKEETTBBAALLLL

NNaattiioonnaall BBaasskkeettbbaallll AAssssoocciiaattiioonn

DENVER NUGGETS—Assigned F Sonny Weems

to Colorado (NBADL).

NEW YORK KNICKS—Signed G-F Demetris

Nichols to a 10-day contract.

TORONTO RAPTORS—Signed C Pops Mensah-

Bonsu for the remainder of the season.

FFOOOOTTBBAALLLL

NNaattiioonnaall FFoooottbbaallll LLeeaagguuee

CINCINNATI BENGALS—Signed QB J.T. O’Sulli-

van.

CLEVELAND BROWNS—Signed S Mike Adams.

CCaannaaddiiaann FFoooottbbaallll LLeeaagguuee

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS—Re-signed LB

Isaiah Charlton.

HHOOCCKKEEYY

NNHHLL

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS—Reassigned G David

Brown to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) from Wheel-

ing (ECHL).

AAHHLL

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS—Re-

assigned F Jordan Morrison and F Bryan Ewing to

Wheeling (ECHL).

EECCHHLL

LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS—Announced Milwau-

kee (AHL) returned C Adam Miller to the team.

LLAACCRROOSSSSEE

MMaajjoorr LLeeaagguuee LLaaccrroossssee

TORONTO NATIONALS—Claimed D Ryan

Cousins and A Shawn Williams from the player pool.

NNCCAAAA MMeenn’’ss BBaasskkeettbbaallllSScchheedduullee

SSaattuurrddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 77

EEAASSTT

Georgia Tech at Boston College, Noon

Connecticut at Pittsburgh, Noon

Saint Joseph’s at Fordham, 1 p.m.

Massachusetts at Rhode Island, 2 p.m.

South Florida at Rutgers, 2 p.m.

Charlotte at St. Bonaventure, 4 p.m.

DePaul at Georgetown, 5 p.m.

Dartmouth at Brown, 7 p.m.

Penn at Columbia, 7 p.m.

Princeton at Cornell, 7 p.m.

Harvard at Yale, 7 p.m.

Temple at George Washington, 7:30 p.m.

Louisville at West Virginia, 9 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

N.C. State at Miami, Noon

Tulane at Memphis, 1 p.m.

Kentucky at Florida, 2 p.m.

SE Louisiana at Northwestern St., 3 p.m.

Marshall at UAB, 3 p.m.

Maryland at Virginia, 3:30 p.m.

LSU at Auburn, 4 p.m.

South Carolina at Georgia, 4 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Mississippi, 5 p.m.

Alabama A&M at Jackson St., 6:30 p.m.

Xavier at Richmond, 7 p.m.

East Carolina at UCF, 7 p.m.

UTEP at Southern Miss., 8 p.m.

Alabama St. at Grambling St., 8:30 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Seton Hall at Cincinnati, Noon

Michigan at Minnesota, Noon

Colorado at Kansas St., 1:30 p.m.

Texas Tech at Iowa St., 1:45 p.m.

Syracuse at Marquette, 2 p.m.

Penn St. at Iowa, 2:05 p.m.

Texas at Kansas, 4 p.m.

Duquesne at Dayton, 8 p.m.

La Salle at Saint Louis, 8 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Missouri at Texas A&M, 2 p.m.

Texas St. at Sam Houston St., 3 p.m.

Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m.

Nebraska at Baylor, 4 p.m.

Tulsa at Rice, 4 p.m.

McNeese St. at Cent. Arkansas, 5 p.m.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Texas-Arlington, 5 p.m.

SMU at Houston, 8 p.m.

Stephen F.Austin at Texas-San Antonio, 8 p.m.

Nicholls St. at Lamar, 8:05 p.m.

Southern U. at Prairie View, 8:30 p.m.

Alcorn St. at Texas Southern, 8:30 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

California at Arizona St., 2 p.m.

Oregon at UCLA, 3:30 p.m.

New Mexico at Wyoming, 3:30 p.m.

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

TCU at Utah, 6 p.m.

Stanford at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

Oregon St. at Southern Cal, 8 p.m.

UC Irvine at Cal St.-Fullerton, 8:05 p.m.

Air Force at BYU, 9 p.m.

San Jose St. at Utah St., 9:05 p.m.

UC Riverside at Cal Poly, 10 p.m.

CS Northridge at Pacific, 10 p.m.

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

Long Beach St. at UC Santa Barbara, 10 p.m.

Fresno St. at Idaho, 10:05 p.m.

Nevada at Boise St., 10:15 p.m.

New Mexico St. at Hawaii, 12:05 a.m.

ZscoresRUN | Continued from Page 1B

helping hand from Marlena Garcia, who also qualified inthe 1600 meter run.

The Lady Hawks also return a pair of hurdlers in Men-doza and Angelina Gonzalez, who hope to hurdle their wayinto the regionals.

Alaniz hopes the experience that returns for the LadyHawks will led into a promising season and a district titleat the end.

“Hopefully all of them have a great season,” Alaniz said.“I am expecting them to come back and ready to go.”

The Lady Hawks will have to face some new competitionfor the district title with new district foes La Feria, Hidal-go and Raymondville, who are expected to make a strongrun at the title.

“We should be up there competing with everybody. LaFeria, Hidalgo and Raymondville are going to be sometough teams but we should be okay,” Alaniz. “I expect a lotof good things from this team and hopefully we can repeatas district champions. It is going to take a lot of hard workon my part and the part of the girls.”

The Lady Hawks will continue the season at the BorderOlympics (March 6 and 7) then the following week will hosttheir own meet, the Zapata Relays, on March 19.

They will travel to Ben Bolt (March 28), Santa Rosa(April 3) their final tune up for the district meet at Ray-mondville, Hidalgo on April 16 and 17.

TO | Continued from Page 1B

continuing to play in the NFL,” Owens added. Where that will be is anyone’s guess. Because many of

the headlines T.O. creates are about ego and attitude. Joneswants the focus on winning, something the Cowboys haven’tdone in the playoffs since 1996.

Owens caught more touchdown passes than any NFL re-ceiver over the last three years and was a big part of TonyRomo’s emergence from an unknown backup to a starlet-dating Pro Bowl quarterback with a $67 million contract.

Yet the Cowboys went 0-for-2 in the playoffs with Owens,and didn’t even make it this past season. Dallas’ late-seasoncollapse — capped by a lackluster effort in a win-and-you’re-in finale in Philadelphia — emphasized that a new approachwas needed.

Jones was slow to go along. Just a few weeks ago, he in-dicated Owens wasn’t going anywhere and firmly said theidea of locker-room problems were “a figment of the result.You didn’t hear about those things when we were win-ning.”

Dallas also released safety Roy Williams on Thursday. Cutting Owens and Williams will cost the Cowboys

about $14 million against the salary cap. There’s no tellinghow much more Dallas will lose in jersey sales and otherpublicity Owens generated. Then again, the $1.1 billion sta-dium that’s opening next season should generate plenty ofinterest and souvenir sales.

Owens learned he was being cut Wednesday night andsent text messages to his friends. Cowboys receiver SamHurd said Owens’ reaction was “more shock than anger.”

“He didn’t give me an explanation. He just said, ‘Wow,”’Hurd said Thursday. “I really didn’t believe that he seen thatcoming. ... He said it’s tough, but it’s a business.”

it’s become the last few years,” Overton said. “Tiger raisedthe bar and it’s unbelievable how good these guys are. It re-ally is. It’s unbelievable how many players have not won yet,but only one guy wins each week. You only have 35 or 40weeks, you get Tiger winning half of them, so there’s not alot of room for other players.”

Seems like there will be this weekend. Ben Crane, winless since 2005, shot a 5-under 65 on his

33rd birthday to get to 5 under, two shots off Yang’s pace.David Mathis (68) was alone at 4 under, and six others wereat 3 under, including Greg Chalmers (who shot 64, Friday’sbest round) and Harrison Frazar (65).

“It’s easy to fade on this golf course,” said MacKenzie, whowon the Viking Classic last fall, but came into the Honda witha string of four consecutive missed cuts. “You’ve got to some-how have confidence and take your medicine when youhave to ... swallow your pride and make bogey sometimes.”

Yang — who needed only 25 putts Friday, one-putting 11times — hasn’t been in that position much so far.

He’s made one bogey in the first two rounds — the 12thhole on Thursday, and immediately followed that with abirdie. Yang started on the back side Friday, put together onebirdie and eight pars before making the turn, and got rollingfrom there with three straight birdies that vaulted him upthe leaderboard. A 12-footer on the par-3 7th was his fifthbirdie of the day, giving him the outright lead.

From there, he hustled to finish before darkness fell. “I didn’t want to have to wake up early,” Yang said. No chance of that now — he’ll be going off in the final

group Saturday. Erik Compton’s stirring run continued with his second

straight round of 69, getting him to 2 under in his secondPGA Tour event since undergoing heart-transplant sur-gery for the second time last year.

CLASSIC | Continued from Page 1B

BIG 12 | Continued from Page 1B

KKaannssaass SSttaattee ((55--77))Practice starts: April 6.Spring game: May 2.All eyes on: After two years of watch-

ing Josh Freeman run the offense, juniorQB Carson Coffman get his turn —maybe. While Coffman is the likely front-runner for the job, he’ll get pushed hardby junior college transfer Daniel Thomas.Coach Bill Snyder, in his second go-roundat Kansas State, has likened Daniels’ run-ning ability to former Wildcats’ standoutMichael Bishop.

MMiissssoouurrii ((1100--44))Practice starts: March 10.Spring game: April 18.All eyes on: The Tigers must replace

virtually all their offensive stars fromconsecutive 10-win teams. WR-KR Je-remy Maclin is a likely high first-roundNFL draft pick, QB Chase Daniel was aHeisman finalist as a junior and TEChase Coffman was the most prolificpass catcher at his position in NCAAhistory. Sophomore Blaine Gabbert has

inside track at QB but could be pushedby newly signed freshman Blaine Dal-ton, who enrolled at mid-semester.Coach Gary Pinkel had to replace bothcoordinators after Dave Christensen(offense) left to be head coach atWyoming and Matt Eberflus (defense)left to be assistant with ClevelandBrowns.

NNeebbrraasskkaa ((99--44))Practice starts: March 25.Spring game: April 18.All eyes on: The offseason departure of

Patrick Witt has narrowed the competi-tion to replace QB Joe Ganz. Zac Lee,son of ex-NFL QB Bob Lee, goes in as thefavorite. Kody Spano will get a good look,as will incoming freshman Cody Green,who enrolled for the spring semester.Cornhuskers will be looking for WRMenelik Holt to prove he can be a consis-tent weapon.

OOkkllaahhoommaa ((1122--22))Practice started: March 3.

Spring game: April 11.All eyes on: The Sooners lost four of

the five starting offensive linemen whokept Heisman Trophy winner Sam Brad-ford largely untouched during Okla-homa’s run to the BCS championshipgame last season. LSU transfer JarvisJones and Stephen Good, a former ArmyAll-American in high school, will beamong those trying to break into the newfront line. The Sooners are also seekingreplacements for WRs Juaquin Iglesiasand Manuel Johnson, who combined for1,864 yards and 19 touchdowns last sea-son.

OOkkllaahhoommaa SSttaattee ((99--44))Practice starts: March 9.Spring game: April 18.All eyes on: With WR Dez Bryant

out following knee surgery and threeother receivers out of the mix for vari-ous reasons other than graduation, theCowboys will be looking for new pass-catching options for QB Zac Robinson.Oklahoma State has no one other than

Bryant who had 100 yards receivinglast season after receiver Bo Bowlingwas suspended, Damian Davis was dis-missed and Artrell Woods decided totransfer. The Cowboys also must re-place departed TE Brandon Pettigrew,who was second on the team in receiv-ing.

TTeexxaass ((1122--11))Practice started: Feb. 27.Spring game: April 5.All eyes on: The Longhorns want OLB

Sergio Kindle to develop into the domi-nant pass rusher that All-American DEBrian Orakpo was last season. He’ll spendthe spring at end, but the coaches sayhe’ll play both positions in the fall. Texasis also still searching for a top-flight RBand lists five players on its spring depthchart. QB Colt McCoy was last season’sleading rusher with 561 yards.

TTeexxaass AA&&MM ((44--88))Practice starts: March 26.Spring game: April 18.

All eyes on: QB Jerrod Johnsonwon’t have to compete for the startingjob this spring after guiding the offensemost of last season. Ryan Tannehill wasA&M’s leading receiver last season, butmay move to backup quarterback.Cyrus Gray will become the top run-ning back after Mike Goodson’s earlyexit. Gray rushed for 363 yards last sea-son. The Aggies’ defense was amongthe worst in the Big 12, but should im-prove now that they’ve had one full sea-son to learn first-year coordinator JoeKines’ system.

TTeexxaass TTeecchh ((1111--22))Practice starts: March 25.Spring game: April 18.All eyes on: The Red Raiders will try to

replace the prolific duo of QB GrahamHarrell and WR Michael Crabtree. Ju-nior QB Taylor Potts has been waiting inthe wings to lead Mike Leach’s pass-hap-py offense and there is a stable of able re-ceivers to replace Crabtree, who left ear-ly for the NFL.

“We were in every single game. The girls aredoing well. We went to the Mission tournamentand competed well,” the coach said.

The Lady Hawks continued playing tough op-ponents.

Next on the list was the Roma Lady Gladiators.The Lady Hawks came alive with their bats as

they soundly beat the Lady Gladiators 11-0.Alaniz was perfect at the plate with four hits on

four trips to the plate to lead the Lady Hawks.At the La Joya tournament the Lady Hawks

captured first place in their division’s bracket.The Lady Hawks dropped their first game to

Harlingen 3-0 then rebounded to shut out La JoyaLincoln Juarez and La Joya Palmview.

They faced McAllen Memorial for the white

championship.The Lady Hawks beat the Lady Mustangs 7-4

for a 3-1 tournament record.“Our defense was very solid, and whenever

we have our game nothing gets by our defense,”Moss said.

The Lady Hawks then traveled to Laredo to facethe United Lady Longhorns on Tuesday.

United, a play-off team, lost some key playersto graduation this past May and fielded a veryyoung team.

The Lady Longhorns’ bats came alive as theLady Hawks’ were silent.

Zapata struggled at the plate as they managed onehit by Moss (1-3) who made her way to third base.

“We had been doing well at the plate but today

we had an off night,” said Alaniz.Lyeva did all she could on the mound as she

fanned five Lady Longhorns and issued one walk.“Lynda had a pretty good outing but the de-

fense struggled a little bit,” Garcia said.The Lady Hawks hope to utilize their pre-dis-

trict to see positive results during their districtseason.

“I know that in our district we have three pitch-ers that throw like United’s pitcher. That is why Iwanted to play United so it can prepare us for ourdistrict’s games,” Garcia said.

The Lady Hawks will be hosting their owntournament this weekend in a final tune up beforethe district season.

Twelve teams are participating.

SOFTBALL | Continued from Page 1B

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2009 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3B

Dear Readers: A wonderfularoma can make a home feel soinviting, and it’s so easy to createa relaxing or uplifting mood withjust a few drops of ESSENTIAL

OIL. Essential

oils are morethan just fra-grance; theyare pure andcome fromplants, so theyshare some ofthe same char-acteristics. For

example: A drop or two of eucalyptus

oil can make your shower feel likea spa. Turn on the hot water, put afew drops directly into the spray ofwater coming out of the showerhead, and the eucalyptus scentwill mix with the steamy water torelax you. Just don’t get it in youreyes! Put a few drops of lavender

oil on a dryer sheet or old facecloth, and your laundry will havea fresh, flowery fragrance. Place a drop or two of pep-

permint oil on a paper towel ortissue and tuck it in your run-ning shoes or work boots to keepthem fresh-smelling. Keep a small bottle of lemon

oil by the kitchen sink to add adrop on your sponge to wipe thesink after rinsing.

Look for essential oils in thepharmacy section of your favoritestore or online. Remember, ittakes only a drop or two. —Heloise

SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise P.O. Box 795000 San Antonio, TX 78279-5000 E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com

KEY CHIMES Dear Heloise: I am writing

to suggest one more way to useold keys — make a “key chime.”When I was teaching elemen-tary music, I made one for myclassroom. The children enjoyedplaying it along with the otherinstruments. It takes a boardabout 18 inches long, 3 incheswide and about 1/2 inch thick.Drill small holes along thelength of the board about 1 1/2inches apart. String a piece offishing line in each hole (differ-ent lengths work fine), and tieas many keys down each stringas desired, being sure to mix upthe sizes. To play, hold the boardand tip it from side to side so thekeys hit each other, making alovely musical sound. — NaomiHembree of Spring, Texas

DISCARD OLD CREDIT CARDS

Dear Heloise: We’ve all heardabout the importance of cuttingup old credit cards to dispose ofthem, but I realized that some-times when I cut them up, I stillleft the top magnetic strip mostlyintact. To solve this problem, I usethe edge of the scissors to scratchoff the magnetic strip as well asthe signature line on the back be-fore cutting it into small pieces.This way, the information is reallydestroyed. — C.Y. of Oregon

ICY STEPS Dear Heloise: I live in Ohio,

where we get our share of snowand ice. I keep a large, 30-ounceplastic coffee container filled withice-melting salt under my sinkor basement step. It doesn’t holdmoisture or clump up. The canhas an indented handle for easypouring, and it’s great for thesteps and porch. — J.B. from Ohio

HELOISE

HINTS BY HELOISE

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM Zclassified BY PHONE: (956) 728-2527

FFAAMMIILLYY CCIIRRCCUUSS

DEAR ABBY: I am part of agroup of people who read our lo-cal newspaper online and com-ment on the news of the day in thepublic forums provided. It’s greatfun and offers an excellent place tointeract with others.

Some of us have becomeclose, exchanging e-mails andchat messages. One of thewomen has suggested we allget together at a local wateringhole and meet each other, andthe gang has agreed.

I would love to join in, but theproblem is that the persona Ibuilt online is that of a hunky,handsome young man — in-cluding a pilfered photo I postedas “me” on my profile. Needlessto say, he is NOT me. I am a 54-year-old, chubby, graying manwho wears glasses.

I would love to meet thesepeople, but I’m embarrassed

about the lies I have told them.Some of the women have flirtedwith me, thinking I am this sexyguy. How can I fix this so we canall be friends? I am afraid they’llbe angry at my ruse. — ABS OFSPONGE

DEAR ABS OF SPONGE:Keep your sense of humor,wear a name tag that reads“Guess Who?” and when theyask who you are, remind thempeople shouldn’t believe every-thing they read. You are by farnot the only person to “fudge”by a few years — or a fewpounds — in describing oneself.In fact, you may be surprised todiscover that you weren’t theonly creative writer in thegroup.

P.S. Your true identity maybe the most interesting “newsflash” at the gathering.

DEAR ABBY: My fiance and

ADVICE | DEAR ABBY

4D | LAREDO MORNING TIMES SATURDAY, MARHC 7, 2009

<DATE> LAREDO MORNING TIMES | 1B

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS194

Diesel engines Chevy 6.6 Ford 7.3 & Cummins 5.9 Remanu-factured w/warranty will de-liver, $2,950. 713-918-5811.

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198

2007 Grand Cherokee. 6 cyl, 20K miles, blue title, sporty ti-res, excellent condition.$14,800 OBO. Call 324-1875

Chevy Blazer ‘02, V6, 4.3 liter, Auto, A/C, blue title, New Tires $5,200 OBO call (956) 286-8966

Dodge Ram 250 ‘92, diesel, perfect condition. $2,600.

Call:(956)333-6565

Pitbull puppy, female,6wks. $300

Call:(956)319-0738

CARS FOR SALE 200

‘02 Infiniti G20, 4CYL., 83K MI., all power, sunroof, rims, leather, cassette/cd, heated seats, $6,525. 725-9376;235-5216

‘97 Mustang Cobra, clean title $6800 Call

956-489-1457Cadillac Deville ‘02,

$3,500 obo.Call:(956)723-2175

Dodge Stratus ‘04, a/c, cd player, only 43k mi., good

condition, $4,000.Call:(956)242-9123

Ford Mustang 1966, 289 motor, working condition,

$4,500 obo.Call:(361)522-7001

Ford Mustang ‘67, $9,000Call:(956)724-6092

Volkswagen Passat 2.0 T ‘07, leather interior with wood trim,

white, 23k mi., alloy rims, sunroof, $15,800 obo.324-1875; 326-5236

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

Sofa & love seat, leather, beige, coffee table, $350

Call:(956)857-5969

USEDDesktop Com-puters, with Excel, Word, Powerpoint

starting at $300 Call 286-8966

PORTABLE BUILDINGS150

Building for sale, 8x10,good condition, $1,400

Call:763-7342

TTRRAANNSSPPOORRTTAATTIIOONN

BOATS 190Skeeter Bass Boat ‘84, 15ft., 40hp., trolly motor, $2,850 OBO Call:(956)220-7665.

CAMPERS & RV’S 191‘06 Pioneer 22ft Excellent con-dition Sleeps 7, ref/stove, mi-

crowave, ect. everything works $ 9,000 obo call 740-9090

HEAVY EQUIPMENT 192

‘2003 Detroit Serie 60 Freightliner Columbia

$20,000 Call:726-4422International, 2001, 160,000

miles, 24ft. box, $13,000.Call:(972)489-9021

Storage containers, deliv-ered to your ranch, 20ft long. Excellent Cond.$2600 Call 744-5059

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

PETS & SUPPLIES 128Chihuahua & pitbull puppies, 2mo. $125 ea. (956)857-5969

Mini Schnauzers $250 4/F Tail Clipped, 1st Shots, dewormed.

call 251-6163

Pure Breed Blood HoundPuppies 2F w/ shots &

dewormed. $300ea. Call 568-2136 ; 774-2623

MMIISSCCEELLLLAANNEEOOUUSS

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

*Dell Desktop, Windows XP Pro PC, internet ready

$160 Call: 220-96542003 Kawasaki STX 1100 Jet

ski, $4800, 33 hrs of use,Call 236-6909

Antique, all wood chest,3 drawers, $150.489-9510

Country club membershipfor sale, $3,200 obo.Call:(956)337-4031

Desks, chairs, tables, filling cabinets. Starting at $25.

Call:(956)237-1105Dining set, 4 chairs, wood, $200 Call:(956)857-5969

Doors for sale, $25ea. wood or metal. Call:(956)220-9654

Estufa de gas, como nueva, buenas condiciones,costo $165

omo. 722-5400 or 724-8801

NEW! Holy Communion dresses, gift items, veils, albums, & acces. Starting at $15 and up. By appt.

only 740-9323Semi used queen mattress $270. Call:(956)857-5969

ACREAGE FOR SALE 76

5 acre tract, frontageon Casa Verde Rd.

$200,000 per acre. Contact (956)725-6641

10ac. Las Lomas Fenced HWY 59 $8000 p/ac 712-4205; 774-6976

BUSINESS OPPORTUNI-TY 82

Restaurant equipment for sale, 2 stoves, fryers,

lamps, tables, chairs, bar stools, lounge sofas. Can be sold separately. Prices

Neg. (956)740-9323

RREENNTTAALLSS

COMMERCIAL RENTALS120

Renta espacio BODEGA8,500 sqft., 1 privado,

luz/agua $2,975 p/mes.Millenium Industrial Park.725-9779 contacto Javier

PPEETTSS && SSUUPPPPLLIIEESS

RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

HOMES FOR SALE 61

House 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

CONDOS FOR SALE 64

1 Condo $60,000 OBOMust 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 956-333-0122

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. Can be sold separately Call

956-333-0122 or 011-52-867-714-1502