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Four people landed be-hind bars for picking upillegal immigrants in Zapa-ta County, according tocourt documents.

Authorities identifiedthe suspects as Jose Guada-lupe Jimenez, CynthiaVeronica Rodriguez-Raya,Tonie Jo Ann Gonzalez-Pacheco and Karina Cruz-Madrid. Records state theytried to smuggle 11 im-migrants who had crossed

the border illegally.A criminal complaint

filed Monday charged thesuspects with transportingillegal immigrants.

Authorities said thesmuggling attempt datesback to Friday.

That day, U.S. BorderPatrol agents assigned toan area north of San Ygna-cio responded to a callfrom a concerned citizen.Reports indicated that awhite GMC heavy dutydually truck and a greenFord Expedition were on

the side of U.S. 83 possiblypicking up illegal immi-grants.

At about 1:55 p.m., agentssaid they spotted two vehi-cles matching the descrip-tion traveling north on U.S.83. Agents followed thevehicles for a close in-spection.

A records check on theGMC dually revealed it hadbeen stolen out of AtascosaCounty. When agents at-tempted an immigrationinspection on the vehicle, itsped off uncontrollably

onto on-coming trafficuntil it collided withparked work truck, accord-ing to court documents.

About eight people exit-ed the GMC following thecrash. Agents caught up tothe driver, Jimenez, and thepassenger, Rodriguez-Raya, and several immi-grants.

Meanwhile, an agent onan unmarked unit keptfollowing the Expedition.Agents then observed theExpedition parked on the

BORDER PATROL

Illegal immigrantsmugglers arrestedFour people behind bars in Zapata CountyBy César G. RodriguezTHE ZAPATA TIME S

Smugglers continues on A10

The Drug Enforce-ment Administration’sNational PrescriptionDrug Take Back Dayis today.

This is an opportu-nity for the communi-ty to safely dispose ofunwanted, unusedprescribed medica-tion. DEA officialssaid they properlydispose of the un-wanted medicationand ask no questionsof people who drop offthe medication. Dis-posing of prescribedmedication improper-ly or washing it downthe drain creates ahealth hazard, accord-ing to authorities.

Zapatans can dropoff their unwantedprescribed medicationtoday at the ZapataCounty Courthouse,200 E. Seventh Ave.from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Other collections siteswere established inLaredo and Cotulla:1 AT&T - 10719 Mc-Pherson Road.1 Burger King parkinglot - 4407 S. ZapataHighway.1 KGNS-TV - 120 WDel Mar Blvd.1 Laredo Fire Depart-ment AdministrationCenter - 616 E. DelMar Blvd.1 Laredo Library - 1120E. Calton Road.1 Lowe’s GroceryStore - 1203 NorthMain in Cotulla.1 Ryan Elementary -

2401 Clark Blvd.1 San Martin Church -1704 Sandman St.1 Shirley Field - 2002San Bernardo Ave.1 Student ActivityCenter - 5208 SantaClaudia Lane.1 Uni-Trade Stadium -6320 Sinatra Pkwy.

This service is free ofcharge, authorities said.The collection runsfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In September, au-thorities collected over2,000 pounds of pre-scribed, unwantedmedication in the Lare-do area.

Veronica Jimenez,program director forthe Webb County Com-munity Coalition ofServing Children andAdults in Need, saidthere has been an in-crease in prescriptiondrug abuse in SouthTexas.

Prescription drugsare readily available athome because peopledo not get rid of them,she said. Youth tend toabuse Vicodin, Oxy-Contin, stimulants forattention-deficit hyper-activity disorder andanxiety medication,among others.

“We’ve a seen in a lotof youth abusing painkillers. They want toget that high,” Jimenezsaid.

“Prescription medi-cations in people’shomes are often mis-used and abused. Themajority of abusedprescription drugs areobtained from familymembers and friends.”

DRUG ENFORCEMENT

DEA hostsTake BackeventDispose of unusedmedicationBy César G.RodriguezTHE ZAPATA TIME S

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —Candelario Jimon Alonzocame to the U.S. dream-ing of becoming some-thing more than whatseemed possible along therutted roads of his home-town in Guatemala’shighlands. This was hischance: He could earn aU.S. high school educa-tion and eventually be-come a teacher.

Instead, the 16-year-oldspends most days alonein the tumbledown Mem-phis house where he liveswith his uncle, leavingonly occasionally to playsoccer and pick up whatEnglish he can from hisfriends.

Local school officialshave kept Jimon out ofthe classroom since he

tried to enroll in January.Attorneys say Jimon andat least a dozen othermigrant youth fleeingviolence in Central Amer-ica have been blockedfrom going to Memphishigh schools becauseofficials contend the teenslacked transcripts or weretoo old to graduate ontime.

The Associated Presshas found that in at least35 districts in 14 states,hundreds of unaccompa-nied minors from El Sal-vador, Guatemala andHonduras have beendiscouraged from enroll-ing in schools or pres-sured into what advocatesand attorneys argue areseparate but unequalalternative programs —essentially an academicdead end, and one thatcan violate federal law.

Instead of enrolling

Jimon and the other mi-nors in high school, theircash-strapped districtrouted them to an adultschool in East Memphisthat offered English clas-ses a few hours a week.But before Jimon couldeven register, the stateshut the GED and En-glish-language programsover concerns that fewstudents were graduating,effectively ending hischances for a formal edu-cation.

“I really wanted tostudy math and Englishwhen I got here,” saidJimon, who grew upspeaking Spanish and theindigenous languageQuiche. The teen is in theprocess of applying forpermission to stay in thecountry permanently.

Shelby County Schoolsspokeswoman Natalia

EDUCATION

Migrant children kept from enrolling in schoolBy Garance Burke andAdrian SainzASSOCIATED PRE SS

Karen Pulfer Focht / AP

In this photo, students are shown in a Hispanic neighborhood in Memphis,Tenn. America's schools remain one of the few government institutions wheremigrant youth are guaranteed services, but the federal government has extendedlittle money or oversight to monitor their impact and well-being.Migrant continues on A10

ZAPATA LION’S CLUB

SCHOLARSHIP NIGHT

Courtesy photo

The Zapata Lion’s Club gave over $6,000 in scholarships and got an additional $2,200 from attending universitiesfor a grant total of $8,200 awarded to help our graduating seniors. However, after requesting a matching of $1,200,Texas A&M also told the Lions they would match them for $12,000, making the final grand total $20,000.

Zin briefA2 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Today is Saturday, April 30, the121st day of 2016. There are 245days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:On April 30, 1789, George

Washington took the oath ofoffice in New York as the firstpresident of the United States.

On this date:In 1803, the United States

purchased the Louisiana Territoryfrom France for 60 million francs,the equivalent of about $15 mil-lion.

In 1812, Louisiana became the18th state of the Union.

In 1900, engineer John Luther"Casey" Jones of the IllinoisCentral Railroad died in a trainwreck near Vaughan, Mississippi,after staying at the controls in asuccessful effort to save thepassengers.

In 1939, the New York World'sFair officially opened with a cere-mony that included an addressby President Franklin D. Roose-velt.

In 1945, as Soviet troops ap-proached his Berlin bunker, AdolfHitler committed suicide alongwith his wife of one day, EvaBraun.

In 1956, former Vice PresidentAlben W. Barkley, 78, collapsedand died while delivering aspeech at Washington and LeeUniversity in Lexington, Virginia.

In 1958, the American Associa-tion of Retired Persons (latersimply AARP) was founded inWashington, D.C., by Dr. EthelPercy Andrus.

In 1968, New York City policeforcibly removed student demon-strators occupying five buildingsat Columbia University.

In 1973, President Richard Nixonannounced the resignations oftop aides H.R. Haldeman andJohn Ehrlichman, Attorney Gener-al Richard G. Kleindienst andWhite House counsel John Dean,who was actually fired.

In 1975, the Vietnam War endedas the South Vietnamese capitalof Saigon fell to Communistforces.

In 1988, Gen. Manuel Noriega,waving a machete, vowed at arally to keep fighting U.S. effortsto oust him as Panama's militaryruler.

In 1990, hostage Frank Reedwas released by his captives inLebanon; he was the secondAmerican to be released in eightdays.

Five years ago: A Libyan officialsaid Moammar Gadhafi hadescaped a NATO missile strike inTripoli that killed one of his sonsand three young grandchildren.

One year ago: Sen. Bernie Sandersof Vermont formally entered therace for the Democratic presi-dential nomination with a newsconference on Capitol Hill.

Today's Birthdays: Actress ClorisLeachman is 90. Singer WillieNelson is 83. Actor Burt Young is76. Singer Bobby Vee is 73. Moviedirector Allan Arkush is 68. ActorPerry King is 68. Singer-musicianWayne Kramer is 68. Singer Mer-rill Osmond is 63. Movie directorJane Campion is 62. Movie direc-tor Lars von Trier is 60. FormerCanadian Prime Minister StephenHarper is 57. Actor Paul Gross is57. Basketball Hall of Famer IsiahThomas is 55. Country musicianRobert Reynolds is 54. ActorAdrian Pasdar is 51. Rock singerJ.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 49.Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 49.Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 47.Rhythm-and-blues singer Chris"Choc" Dalyrimple (Soul ForReal) is 45. Rock musician ChrisHenderson (3 Doors Down) is 45.Country singer Carolyn DawnJohnson is 45. Actress Lisa DeanRyan is 44. Rhythm-and-bluessinger Akon is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jeff Timmons (98Degrees) is 43. Actor JohnnyGalecki is 41. Singer-musicianCole Deggs (Cole Deggs and theLonesome) is 40. Actor SamHeughan (TV: "Outlander") is 36.Actor Kunal Nayyar is 35. RapperLloyd Banks is 34. Actress KirstenDunst is 34. Country singer TylerWilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 32.

Thought for Today: "There's adifference between a philosophyand a bumper sticker." — CharlesM. Schulz, American cartoonist(1922-2000).

TODAY INHISTORY

Saturday, April 30

1 Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetari-um will celebrate its 11th anniversa-ry. Noon–6 p.m. TAMIU. There will beshowings of “Starry Night” and “SpaceNext” every 45 minutes. There will besnacks, face painting and other activ-ities available. General admission is$3. Event is open to all TAMIU com-munity and public. For more informa-tion, contact Claudia Herrera at 956-326-2463 or email claudia.herre-ra@tamiu.edu.

1 Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan deGuadalajara. 7 p.m. LISD Civic Center,2400 San Bernardo Ave. The perfor-mance, dubbed De México Para ElMundo, is a scholarship benefit forTAMIU students. Tickets are $50, $35and $25 each and are available atTicketmaster outlets and at the door.

1 TAMIU’s Spring Theatre Produc-tion class presents “University.”7:30 p.m. TAMIU’s Center for the Fineand Performing Arts Sam JohnsonBlack Box Theatre. Admission requiresa minimum scholarship donation of$5 per person, students with ID andchildren under 12 enter free. For moreinformation, contact Dr. GilbertoMartinez at 956-326-3037 or emailgilberto.martinez@tamiu.edu.

1 Laredo PAGA Scholarship Fund-raiser Tournament. 8:30 a.m. (signin 7:30 a.m.–8:10 a.m.). Max MandelGolf Course. Cost: $100, includestournament fees and lunch. Prizes for1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Youcan mail in your teams and fees usingthe registration form, which can beaccessed at http://www.laredopa-ga.org/. You need not be a PAGAmember to come and support thecause. For more information, visithttp://www.laredopaga.org/

1 Dia de los Niños Jamaica. 1–9p.m. Lighthouse Assembly of GodChurch, 8731 Belize Drive. Fun andfood for the whole family; gorditas,brisket tacos, funnel cakes.

Sunday, May 1

1 TAMIU’s Spring Theatre Produc-tion class presents “University.” 3p.m. TAMIU’s Center for the Fine andPerforming Arts Sam Johnson BlackBox Theatre. Admission requires aminimum scholarship donation of $5per person, students with ID andchildren under 12 enter free. For moreinformation, contact Dr. GilbertoMartinez at 956-326-3037 or emailgilberto.martinez@tamiu.edu.

Monday, May 2

1 Chess Club. Every Monday from4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City BranchLibrary. Free for all ages and skilllevels. Basic instruction is offered. Formore information call John at 956-795-2400 x2520.

1 Screen Free Week: Craft. 4–5 p.m.McKendrick Ochoa Salinas BranchLibrary, 1920 Palo Blanco St. CelebrateScreen Free Week by making crafts.

Tuesday, May 3

1 Les Amies Birthday Club month-ly meeting. 11:30 a.m. Ramada Plaza.Hostesses are Olivia Arroyo, AmparoGarcia and Grace Stegmann. Honoreeis Herminia Molina.

1 Alzheimer’s Disease SupportGroup. 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center,meeting room 2, Tower B in the Com-munity Center. Meetings are open toindividuals who have been diagnosedwith Alzheimer’s disease, as well asfamily, friends and caregivers ofAlzheimer’s disease patients. Thoseinterested in learning more about thedisease, as well as gather more in-formation on resources available, areinvited and encouraged to attend. Formore information, call Melissa Guerraat 956-693-9991 or Laredo MedicalCenter at 956-796-3223.

1 Knitting Circle. 1–3 p.m. McKen-drick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library,1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarnand knitting needles. For more in-formation, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or795-2400 x2403.

1 Screen Free Week: Crochet. 4–5p.m. McKendrick Ochoa SalinasBranch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St.Celebrate Screen Free Week by learn-ing to crochet with Laredo artistMallory Miles.

1 Rock wall climbing. 4–5 p.m.LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W.Plum St. Free. Take the challenge andclimb the rock wall! Fun exercise forall ages. Must sign release form. Formore information, contact John Hongat 795-2400 x2521.

Wednesday, May 4

1 South Texas Food Bank Cinco deMayo Fiesta. 6–11 p.m. Hal’s Landing,6510 Arena Blvd. Fundraiser donationis $10 per person. Tickets at door.Music by Ross and Friends, plus threeother local bands: Grupo Kharma,Contacto and Los Folkloricos. Morethan $1,000 in door prizes. For in-formation, call Salo Otero, 324-2432.

1 Screen Free Week: Petting Zoo &Pony Rides. 4–5 p.m. McKendrickOchoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920Palo Blanco St. Celebrate Screen FreeWeek by visiting the petting zoo andriding a pony at the library.

1 Bible study. 7–9 p.m. LighthouseAssembly of God Church, 8731 BelizeDrive. Every Wednesday. The Word ofGod has the power to comfort, healand change hearts. For more in-formation, call at 251-1784.

CALENDAR

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A friend of thewhite man accused of fatally shootingnine black parishioners in Charleston lastyear pleaded guilty Friday to lying to fed-eral authorities during their investigation.He also revealed that the suspect told himhe planned to kill himself after the slay-ings, which he had planned for months.

The plea by Joey Meek, 21, marked thefirst conviction in a mass killing thatstunned the country, reignited discussionsabout race relations and led to the remov-al of a Confederate battle flag from theSouth Carolina Statehouse. Dylann Roof,

who is charged with the slayings, had pre-viously posed for photos with a rebel flag.

Meek signed a deal with prosecutorsunder which he agreed to plead guilty tolying to authorities and failure to report acrime. He could face up to eight years inprison when he’s sentenced later, al-though prosecutors say they will argue hedeserves less time if he’s helpful in theirongoing case.

Meek admitted to key points of the gov-ernment’s case against him, saying Roofhad told him he had planned for morethan six months to shoot people.

AROUND THE NATION

Bruce Smith / AP

Attorney Debbie Barbier speaks to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Charleston, S.C.,on Friday, after her client, Joey Meek, pleaded guilty to two federal charges.

SHOOTER’S FRIENDPLEADS GUILTY

Authorities fault VAreview of wait times

AUSTIN, Texas — Federalauthorities have determinedthat an investigation by the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairsinto the manipulation of waittimes for Texas veterans seek-ing care was “deficient andunreasonable.”

The U.S. Office of SpecialCounsel released a statementthis week saying the investiga-tion of scheduling manipula-

tion at several Texas VA hospi-tals and clinics by the VA’sOffice of Inspector General“failed to appropriately ad-dress” whistleblower allega-tions. It found, for instance,that the VA substantiated thatimproper scheduling occurredat facilities in Austin and SanAntonio but didn’t addresswhether that may have en-dangered public health andsafety.

The OSC noted in its find-ings, which were first reportedby the Austin American-States-

man, that a whistleblower atthe VA medical center in Tem-ple disclosed scheduling ma-nipulation at her center andother facilities in the CentralTexas Veterans HealthcareSystem. The Office of InspectorGeneral did not substantiatethe allegations by the whis-tleblower, but it also didn’taddress her contention that theVA categorized hundreds ofhealth consultations as eitherscheduled or completed whenthey actually never were. —Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS

Argentina floodsswamp soy crop

VILLA PARANACITO, Ar-gentina — Water levels in theflooded town of Villa Paranaci-to have risen so much that thebest way for residents to com-mute is by boat.

The town in eastern Argenti-na is one of the worst-struck byweeks of heavy rains stemmingfrom the El Nino weather phe-nomenon. With streets coveredby several feet of water fromswollen rivers, residents aregetting to schools, banks andother town services on boats,the only means of transporta-tion.

Kenya buildingcollapses in rain

NAIROBI, Kenya — A six-story residential building in alow income area of the Kenyancapital collapsed Friday underheavy rain and flooding, trap-ping an unknown number ofpeople in the rubble, Kenyan

officials said.A search-and-rescue team

managed to pull three childrenand an adult out from the re-mains of the building in theHuruma area, the Kenya RedCross said. It was not immedi-ately clear whether there werefatalities.

The Red Cross said 150 build-ing units and adjacent homes

were affected. Live TV footage showed the

National Youth Service andfirefighters removing stones byhand and a crowd cheeringwhen a child was removedfrom the rubble.

Hours-long traffic jamscaused by flooded roads de-layed rescue teams.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD

Natacha Pisarenko / AP

A man navigates a flooded street in Villa Paranacito, EntreRios, Argentina, on Thursday.

Woman took babyfrom womb

BOULDER, Colo. — A judgeon Friday sentenced a Coloradowoman who cut a baby from astranger’s womb to 100 years inprison, including the maximumpenalties for attempted murderand unlawful termination of apregnancy.

Judge Maria Berkenkottersaid the harshest sentences forthe most serious charges werejustified by the brutality of the2015 attack, which she described

as performing a cesarean with akitchen knife. Berkenkotter alsosaid the victim, Michelle Wil-kins, as well as her family andthe community needed DynelLane, 36, to express remorse.

Lane murmured a “no” whenthe judge asked if she wanted tospeak. Lane also did not speakin her defense during her trial,which ended in February whenjurors found her guilty of at-tempting to kill Wilkins afterluring her victim to her homewith an ad for maternityclothes.

Jurors had heard that Lane

went to elaborate lengths tofeign her own pregnancy beforeattacking Wilkins. They did nothear that in 2002, Lane’s 19-month-old son drowned inwhat investigators ruled was anaccident. Relatives said herremorse over losing her sonmay have led her to take anaction they could not under-stand or explain. Lane’s at-torneys did not dispute that sheattacked Wilkins, but theyargued there was no evidence itwas a calculated murder at-tempt.

— Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata Times is distributed on Wednesdays andSaturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata and Jim Hoggcounties. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times andfor those who buy the Laredo Morning Times in those areasat newstands, The Zapata Times is inserted.The Zapata Times is free.The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo MorningTimes, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box2129, Laredo, Texas, 78044. Call (956) 728-2500.

CONTACT US

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | A3

Public NoticeRegion 11 of the Department of State Health Services, in partnership with theTexas Military Forces may conduct ahealth care program called “OperationLone Star” in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr,Jim Hogg, Zapata and Webb Counties.Free medical and dental services may beprovided for up to one week in late Julyand/or early August 2018.

Questions should be addressed to:

Innovative Readiness CoordinatorATTN: 1SG Enrique Sanchez2200 W 35th St, Bldg. 8, Rm A125Austin, TX 78703512-431-8343J7, NCOIC, DOMOPS1SG Co G 949BSB

L-65

LOCAL

The Zapata CountySheriff’s Office issued ascam alert this week.

On Monday, authoritiessaid they have receivedseveral reports of threat-ening phone calls madeby IRS impersonators.

The Sheriff’s Officesaid the “aggressivephone scam” is targetingelderly community mem-bers.

“Individuals claimingto work for the InternalRevenue Service (IRS) arethreatening to arrest peo-ple for failing to pay backtaxes to the IRS and leav-ing voicemails stating that

a lawsuit will be filed ifthe phone call is not re-turned,” reads a statementfrom the Sheriff’s Office.

“While these dangerousand cunning con artistscan sound convincing andcredible, they are far, farfrom it. If you receivesuch a call, don’t allowyourself to get scammed.”

Authorities said theIRS will never do thefollowing things:1 The IRS will never callyour home demandingthe immediate payment ofany taxes over the phone.1 Furthermore, the IRSwill never ask for yourcredit or debit card in-formation over the phone.1 The IRS will never

demand that you paytaxes using a specificmethod like a prepaiddebit card.1 The IRS will neverthreaten to have youarrested for not payingtaxes.

People who feel they’rebeing scammed shouldhang and contact theSheriff’s Office at 956-765-9960 or the TreasuryInspector General for TaxAdministration at 1-800-366-4484.

For more informationas it relates to the IRSand scam alerts, pleasevisit:www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-

Scams-Consumer-Alerts.

Sheriff issuesphone scam alertBy César G. RodriguezTHE ZAPATA TIME S

A man from San Ygna-cio was arrested in Lare-do under the suspicionof driving drunk, au-thorities said.

At 1 a.m. Friday, aperson called 911 report-ing a speeding maroonGMC Sierra that hadcrashed into a ditch by

the area ofBuckyHoudmannBoulevardand BobBullockLoop, ac-cording topreliminarypolice re-

ports.No injuries were re-

ported, police said.

LPD officers identifiedthe driver as GerardoGutierrez, 24. Gutierrezallegedly became rowdywith police, initial re-ports state. Gutierrezwas charged with driv-ing while intoxicated andresisting arrest, bothmisdemeanors.

He is out on bondfrom the Webb CountyJail.

San Ygnacio manarrested for DWIBy César G. RodriguezTHE ZAPATA TIME S

GerardoGutierrez

GALVESTON, Texas— A divided GalvestonCity Council has refusedto impose a moratoriumon building projects onthe city’s beaches.

Council members vot-ed 4-3 Thursday on ameasure that would haveblocked construction onthe beach side of the

108-block-long Galvestonseawall.

The issue was prompt-ed by an 11.5-acre projectalready in developmentthat would convert beachproperty that’s now apark into restaurants,shops, apartments androom for 1,400 cars. Thebeach property is now infederal bankruptcycourt. Some Galveston

residents would prefer itremain a park.

The Galveston CountyDaily News reportscouncil members op-posed to the moratoriumpointed out a vote infavor likely wouldn’t stopthe project now and onlya small portion of allland on the water side ofthe seawall actually isdevelopable.

Galveston City Council rejectsbeach constructionmoratoriumASSOCIATED PRE SS

DALLAS — No oneshould blame consumersfor being perplexed byairfares — even the air-lines themselves canseem confused at times.

Southwest Airlines

caught rivals and WallStreet by surprise when itcut many U.S. fares by $5each way. The reductionthis week applied to tick-ets bought within sevendays of departure, whichare usually favored moreby last-minute businesstravelers than vacation-

ers.Meanwhile, Delta Air

Lines was busy raisingfares on domestic routesby $5 each way. And it didnot match Southwest’slower fares where the twocarriers compete, a Deltaspokesman said Thurs-day.

Airlines tangle over pricesBy David KoenigASSOCIATED PRE SS

Laredo Morning Timesdoes not publish anony-mous letters.

To be published, lettersmust include the writer'sfirst and last names aswell as a phone number toverify identity.

The phone number ISNOT published; it is usedsolely to verify identity andto clarify content, if neces-sary.

Identity of the letterwriter must be verifiedbefore publication. Wewant to assure our readersthat a letter is written bythe person who signs the

letter. Laredo MorningTimes does not allow theuse of pseudonyms.

This space allows forpublic debate of the issuesof the day.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, length andcivility. No name-calling orgratuitous abuse is al-lowed. Also, letters longerthan 500 words will notbe accepted.

Via email, send lettersto editorial@lmton-line.com or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Laredo,TX 78041.

LETTERS POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

OTHER VIEWS

ZopinionA4 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

Funny how time canput new perspective onold jokes. I heard one ofthose a few times thisweek on a video loopplayed between sessionsat the Vietnam War Sum-mit that wrapped upThursday at the LBJ Pres-idential Library:

“Don’t worry aboutthose riots you hear aboutin the states,” Bob Hopetold GIs in Vietnam.“You’ll be sent to survivalschool before they sendyou back there.”

Some of those long-agowarriors still are strug-gling to survive. All theseyears later, the nation theyserved still struggles withwhat former Lyndon B.Johnson aide Larry Tem-ple, speaking at the sum-mit, called “the tragedy ofthe Vietnam War.”

On Tuesday, formerRichard Nixon aide Al-exander Butterfield, ex-panding on a familiarreference, said the warwas the product of “thebest and the brightest(who) were doing theirdarnedest. ... But no onecould really get a handleon it.”

We still really can’t, atleast not in a way we onwhich we all agree.

“I tried to do the best Icould,” Henry Kissingersaid Tuesday.

So did Liz Allen ofHuntington, West Virgin-ia, a retired Army nursewho recalled trying to dotoo much with too little inVietnam.

“How do you come togrips with 150 body bagsin one day?” Allen said ona Thursday panel.

Other evocative wordscame in readings of long-ago letters to LBJ fromU.S. servicemen. MarineCpl. Lee Vernon Bonnetteincluded a photo of him-self with a young smilingVietnamese girl whosemother was killed by theViet Cong.

“Because of us,” Bon-nette told LBJ, “she is ableto smile. ... But there aremany more who do nothave the freedom smilewhich she has. ... This isworth fighting for. This isworth dying for.”

The counterpoint camein the next letter.

“In short sir,” MarinePvt. Charles E. Nicholstold LBJ, “we’re fightingthis war for the Vietnam-ese people and I’d like toknow why. Why shouldmy buddies and otherpeople’s sons have to diefighting for what hedoesn’t understand orbelieve in?”

Another view of thewar -- one that says itremains an unfinishedtask -- came from stateRep. Hubert Vo, D-Hous-ton, a South Vietnam

native.“Today, what can we

say was achieved withthese great losses?” Voasked. “While many com-munist states around theworld have already fallen,Vietnam still remains acommunist state. ... Viet-nam today still has neitherfreedom nor democracy.”

Vo expressed apprecia-tion for the U.S. sacrifices,but he said “to properlyhonor these heroes wemust examine what theirsacrifice means to us to-day and how much of thecause for which they diedstill remains to beachieved.”

On the same stage, aday later, Secretary ofState John Kerry, whofamously (infamously tosome) opposed the warafter returning from serv-ing in it, trumpeted cur-rent relations between theU.S. and Vietnam. Hespoke glowingly of a “re-markable transformation”in trade and tourism andcooperative efforts ineducation and securitythat’s made Vietnam “acompletely different na-tion.”

Different in many ways,the same in others.

“Now as I say all of this,is it everything where wewant it to be? No,” he said,noting that Vietnam nowpractices “raging capital-ism” but remains under“authoritarian” rule.”Kerry will join PresidentBarack Obama on a Maytrip to Vietnam.

Kerry’s appearance atthe Austin summit was amajor moment. So wasCountry Joe McDonald’sThursday performance of“Fixin’ to Die Rag,” hisoddly upbeat ditty thatbecame an anti-war an-them, with lyrics like “Bethe first one on your blockto have your boy comehome in a box.”

As he sang, LBJ’sdaughters Luci BainesJohnson and Lynda John-son Robb sat stoically onthe front row. Both ap-plauded politely whenMcDonald finished.

Not long later, the sis-ters seemed genuinelymoved as they stood andjoined hands as singerPeter Yarrow led the audi-ence in “Where Have AllThe Flowers Gone?”

“When will we everlearn?” Yarrow, the John-son daughters and all inthe hall sang. “When willwe ever learn?

If that was the summit’semotional high point, it’smost riveting might havebeen the evening featuringKissinger. LBJ LibraryDirector Mark Updegrovediplomatically confrontedKissinger with the notionthat he’s a Nobel PeacePrize winner who’s con-sidered a war criminal bymany for his support ofbombing in Cambodia.

COLUMN

Summit provesVietnam Warstill provocativeBy Ken HermanCOX NEWSPAPERS

Professional wrestlinghas nothing on a DonaldTrump rally.

At a WWE event, thestaged violence happensin the ring or around it.At a Trump rally, younever know where thestandoff, tussle or suckerpunch will come from.And at a Trump rally, thevery real violence spillsonto the streets.

Trump isn’t afraid, of

course.While he likes to stir

the pot, encourage hiscrowds to rough up pro-testers and promises topay legal bills if they hurtsomeone, Trump sitscomfortably in the cat-bird seat surrounded bysecurity and secret ser-vice officers.

So many fights brokeout at this week’s Trumprally in Orange County,Calif., police had to arrest20 people. Media reportssay hundreds of protest-

ers surged on riot police.A Trump supporter

had his face bloodied ashe tried to drive out ofthe arena but was in-stead beaten by a mob.Another man jumped ona police car, smashingwindows and leavingdents. TV news footageshowed a crowd sur-rounding a police carwith emergency lightson, ominously rocking itback and forth.

But by now, everybodyknows how dicey Trump

rallies can be. His sup-porters have literallydetained, taunted andpunched anyone theyperceive to be a BernieSanders or Hillary Clin-ton follower.

And those scenes inOrange County are signsof more things to come.

If Trump can causethis kind of mayhemduring primary season,imagine the damage hecan do when we roll intoa national presidentialcampaign.

COLUMN

Donald Trump is a riot, or at least his rallies areBy Daniel VasquezSUN SENTINEL

Judging from the latestprimary results and newpolls that have just comeout, I have a growingfeeling that Latinos willsave America from Don-ald Trump.

There is little questionafter the April 26 primaryelections in Pennsylvaniaand four other states thatTrump will be the Repub-lican candidate for No-vember’s presidentialelections. And if he isdefeated by Democraticfront-runner HillaryClinton, it will be largelythanks to the Latino vote.

Consider a new poll byLatino Decisions, a na-tionwide survey of 2,200registered Latino voters:It shows that a whopping87 percent of Hispanicshave an unfavorable opin-ion of Trump. Just in caseyou are wondering, thepoll has a margin of errorof 2.1 percent.

Trump’s standing

among Latino voters hasbeen falling steadily sincethe very day he an-nounced his run for thepresidency on June 16 andsaid that most Mexicansare "rapists" and thatthey "bring drugs andcrime" to the UnitedStates.

His rhetoric againstMexicans - perhaps influ-enced by his failed busi-ness project in Baja Cali-fornia in 2008 - and otherundocumented immi-grants, most of whom areHispanics, has escalatedsince.

Despite having beentold a thousand timesthat his narrative aboutan avalanche of undocu-mented Mexicans comingto the United States isinaccurate - in fact, U.S.Census figures show theflow of Mexicans is sig-nificantly down from2008 - Trump is repeat-ing his fear-mongeringtale in almost everyspeech.

He calls for the massdeportation of more than

11 million undocumentedmigrants, proposes tobuild a wall on the borderwith Mexico, and wantsto slap a 35 percent im-port tax on Mexicanproducts. So far, his audi-ences love it.

Bur, remember, he hasbeen talking to a limitedaudience of right-wingRepublican primary vot-ers. In a general election,he may come to regret hisMexico-bashing andanti-immigrant tirades.

The Latino vote will becritical in the Novemberelection. The percentageof Latino voters nation-wide is projected to sky-rocket from 3.9 percent in1992 to nearly 10 percentin 2016, according to arecent study by City Uni-versity of New York andCNN en Español.

More importantly,Latinos are concentratedin 10 states that have thelargest number of votes inthe electoral college. Theywill exceed 10 percent ofvoters in Arizona, Cali-fornia, Colorado, Con-

necticut, Florida, NewJersey, New Mexico, Ne-vada, New York and Tex-as.

And Clinton is doingmuch better than Trumpamong Hispanics: 61 per-cent of those polled na-tionwide say they have afavorable opinion of Clin-ton, while only 9 percenthave a favorable opinionof Trump, the LatinoDecision survey shows.

So how can Trump winwithout the Latino vote?Trump supporters saythat he will make up forhis shortage of Latinovoters by drawing mil-lions of angry white Re-publicans and so-calledReagan Democrats whohave not voted in recentelections to the polls inNovember. These votersare energized by Trump’s"America First" national-ist-populist campaignclaiming that Mexicans,Muslims and Europeanand Asian governmentsthat are getting U.S. mil-itary aid are to blame forAmerica’s problems.

OP-ED

Latino vote likely tosink Trump this fallBy AndresOppenheimerMIAMI HERALD

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | A5

ENTERTAINMENT

LOS ANGELES —Will Ferrell is not pursu-ing a film project aboutPresident Ronald Rea-gan, a spokesman for theactor said Friday. Theactor had read and con-sidered the script for“Reagan” but had nevercommitted to developingor starring in the come-dic film, which hadprompted a strong familybacklash.

The script for “Rea-gan” had been describedin a Variety report as apolitical satire about thepresident falling intodementia at the start ofhis second term.

Reagan’s children Mi-chael Reagan and PattiDavis, as well as the Ron-

ald Reagan PresidentialFoundation, issued state-ments against the idea ofa film portraying de-mentia and Alzheimer’sin a comedic fashion.

Ferrell’s spokesmansaid that “Reagan” is “byno means” an Alzheim-er’s comedy. Reagan diedof the disease in 2004.

Will Ferrell ‘notpursuing’ RonaldReagan film, saysspokesmanASSOCIATED PRE SS

Evan Agostini / AP file

In this file photo, WillFerrell attends the worldpremiere of "Zoolander2" in New York.

NEW YORK — Presi-dent Thomas J. Whit-more, famed speech-maker and defender ofthe planet from aliens,has the kind of poll num-bers Hillary or Donalddream about.

In "Independence Day:Resurgence," Bill Pullmanwill reprise his muchloved president from the1996 original. His Whit-more was a relativelysmall piece of the movie,which featured otherattractions like Will Smithpunching an alien. But hisrallying call-to-arms hadan outsized impact amidthe CGI spectacle.

Pullman’s full-throatedpre-battle speech ("Today,we celebrate our Indepen-dence Day!”) is like thepopcorn-movie answer tothe St. Crispin’s Day

speech of “Henry V.”Pullman’s big scene hasgone down in the annalsof movie motivationalspeeches, alongside GeneHackman in “Hoosiers”and Mel Gibson in “Bra-veheart.”

Over the years, he’sseen it take on a life of itsown.

“It’s a strange kind of

pseudo position I have inthe realm of politics,” saysthe 62-year-old actor, whoalso played a president inthe short-lived sitcom“1600 Penn.”

Pullman’s extensivefictional experience in theWhite House could argu-ably make him more qual-ified to run for office thansome of this year’s presi-dential candidates. But inRoland Emmerich’s “In-dependence Day: Re-surgence,” out June 24,his character is out ofoffice and a potentialliability in a new war withinvading extraterrestrials.

Pullman, Jeff Goldblumand Vivica Fox are someof the stars returningfrom the original, butmuch of the cast is madeof up newcomers: LiamHemsworth, Jessie Usherand Maika Monroe,among them. For Pull-man, the longevity of

“Independence Day” —the epitome of the corny,pre-9/11 summer block-buster — is surprising.The original made $817.4million worldwide, farand away the biggest hitof 1996.

“When it was summa-rized it sounded like may-be it was a cartoon,” saysPullman. “I rememberthere was even somepushback about it beingmore like a popcorn mov-ie, or something. The factthat it’s kind of enduredas a classic is good andputs a lot of pressure onthe second one.”

For an actor whostarred in “Spaceballs”and David Lynch’s “LostHighway,” and performedin Edward Albee andDavid Mamet plays onBroadway, “IndependenceDay” is an unlikely touch-stone. It even threatenedto typecast him.

Pullman’s ‘IndependenceDay’ call-to-arms lives onBy Jake CoyleASSOCIATED PRE SS

Greg Allen / AP file

Actor Bill Pullmanattends the 30th AnnualLucille Lortel Awards.

A6 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

SAN FRANCISCO —San Francisco’s policechief said Friday that hehas ordered that all offi-cers finish an anti-harass-ment class within the nextmonth amid a racist text-ing scandal that hasrocked the departmentalready dogged by fatalshootings of unarmedminority suspects.

Flanked by religiousand minority communityleaders at a San Franciscopress conference, ChiefGreg Suhr also releasedmore transcripts of racistand homophobic textmessages first made avail-able to The AssociatedPress along with inflam-matory and inappropriateimages found on formerofficers’ cellphones.

It’s the second textingscandal since 2014 in adepartment that is at-tempting to diversify itsofficers to reflect the San

Francisco culture andpopulation. The depart-ment of 2,100 was led byan Asian-American wom-an and a black man be-fore Suhr took over fiveyears ago.

About half the officersare white, roughly reflec-ting the white populationin San Francisco. Asiansmake up a third of the citypopulation, but accountfor about 16 percent of theofficers. Close to 9 percentof its officers are black,exceeding a city pop-ulation of 6 percent,

Suhr says he has noplans to resign and MayorEd Lee says he supportsthe chief.

Lee sent an email letterto the entire departmentof nearly 2,100 officersThursday night calling onthem to report colleagueswho display intolerantbehavior.

Suhr said Friday thattwo officers turned in bycolleagues for suspectedovertime abuse and unau-

thorized access of drivingrecords are being investi-gated by the district at-torney for possible crimi-nal charges.

“I support Chief Suhr,”said the Rev. AmosBrown, president of SanFrancisco’s NAACP chap-ter.

Investigators say theyfound the text messageson the personal phones ofthe officers during crimi-

They discuss a shoot-out among black men andthe shooting of an armedsuspect by police. In do-ing so, they appear toridicule the shootingdeath by police in 2014 ofa mentally ill man carry-ing a stun gun officersmistook for a handgun.

They also exchangedphotographs with racistcaptions.

One photo depicts awhite man playfullyspraying a young blackchild with a garden hose.The caption calls the boya racial slur.

There’s a photo ofsmoke rising above SanFrancisco and guesses areexchanged about the ori-gins of the fire.

“Must be Korean BBQ,”quips one.

“I heard was a slaveship!!” quips another.

Liu’s attorney TonyBrass said that the textsinvestigators turned overto him show Liu only onthe receiving end.

involved in the racist andhomophobic conversa-tions Suhr provided wereredacted. Suhr said thatLai, Liu and an unidenti-fied third former officersent and received many ofthe messages. He also saidseveral civilians wereinvolved in the conversa-tions.

Lai resigned earlier thismonth and Liu retired lastyear. Both are ChineseAmericans, according toSuhr. The unidentifiedofficer, who is white, alsoresigned. Suhr declined toidentify a fourth officerimplicated in the textingscandal who is facingdismissal before the city’sPolice Commission.

The newly providedtranscripts denigrateminority suspects withracial slurs and insultcolleagues perceived to begay. The texts ridiculeblacks in Ferguson, Mis-souri, where police shotand killed an unarmedblack man.

nal probes of former offi-cer Jason Lai and retiredLt. Curtis Liu.

“The vast majority ofpolice officers are shak-en,” Suhr said in an in-terview with The APWednesday night. “Theexpectations have neverbeen higher, so whenofficers do something likethis, the disappointmentcan’t be greater.”

The names of those

San Francisco chief releases racisttexts, orders trainingBy Paul EliasASSOCIATED PRE SS

Eric Risberg / AP

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr makes his wayto a podium before the start of a news conference,on Friday.

BRANDON, Fla. — A$5,000 reward is beingoffered for informationabout the whereabouts offour girls who apparentlyran away from a facilityfor foster children nearTampa.

Hillsborough CountySheriff ’s Col. DonnaLusczynski said during aFriday afternoon newsconference that detectiveshave interviewed schoolclassmates and otherfoster children.

“Our concern obviouslygets greater the more timethey’re gone,” she said.

The girls — ages 13, 11,10 and 4 — were last seenat 10 p.m. Thursday at AKids Place, east of down-town Tampa.

They were reportedmissing after a bed checkjust before midnight.

Lusczynski said lawenforcement officersspent the day going door-to-door, looking for thegirls. They also madecontact with every regis-tered sexual predator in atwo-mile radius.

The Florida Depart-ment of Law Enforcementand the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation will also beplacing alerts on Floridabillboards about the miss-ing children.

Officials have also beenchecking with relatives ofthe girls. The three youn-ger children — 4-year-oldAllison Nelson, 10-year-old Anabella Gonzalezand 11-year-old Heav-enlynn Gonzalez — aresisters who have been atthe facility since March.She said 13-year-old Ash-lyn Smith has lived theresince February.

Investigators inter-

viewed all the childrenand staff at the facilityand learned at least twoof the girls had discussedrunning away with oth-ers, Lusczynski said.Sheriff ’s officials areworking to obtain searchwarrants for the comput-ers the girls use to seewhether they correspond-ed with anyone aboutrunning away.

“We don’t have anyreason to believe this isan abduction,” she said.

She urged everyone tobe on the lookout for thegirls.

“They are young kidsand we don’t want themout on the streets bythemselves,” she said,adding that they are espe-cially concerned aboutthe safety of the 4-year-old.

Lusczynski declined togive details about why thegirls were at the home,citing privacy issues. Shesaid many times childrenend up there because ofabuse or abandonment.

Officials at the hometold authorities theydidn’t know what thegirls were wearing whenthey disappeared. Theyhave no medical issues ordisabilities and don’t takeany medication.

A woman who an-swered the phone at AKids Place declined toanswer a reporter’s ques-tions.

A Kids Place opened in2009. It was described inlocal news reports as a$5.2-million, 60-bed facil-ity that serves as a tempo-rary shelter for childrenfrom birth to 17. The facil-ity is where law enforce-ment brings children inthe first traumatic hoursafter they are removedfrom their homes.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office / AP

Sisters, Allison Nelson, Anabella Gonzalez andHeavenlynn Gonzalez, pose for a photo.

$5,000offered formissing girlsBy Tamara LushASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON —Mistakes by the crewflying an AC-130 gunship,compounded by equip-ment and proceduralfailures, led to the devas-tating attack on a DoctorsWithout Borders hospitalin Afghanistan last year,the Defense Departmentannounced Friday, and 16U.S. military personnel,including a general officer,have been punished fortheir roles in the strike.

The punishments forthe Oct. 3 attack, whichkilled 42 people, will be“administrative actions”only, and none of thosebeing disciplined will facecriminal charges becausethe attack was determinedto be unintentional. Thepunishments includesuspension and removalfrom command as well asletters of reprimand,which can seriously dam-age or end a career.

The new top officer ofthe military’s CentralCommand, Gen. Joseph L.Votel, made the announce-ment during a Pentagonnews conference. He saidthe military had conduct-ed “a thorough investiga-tion,” which was “pains-taking” in seeking an“accurate account” of whathad occurred.

Its conclusion is thatneither the crew membersof the gunship who firedon the hospital in thenorthern city of Kunduz

nor the Special Forces onthe ground who weredirecting the strike “knewthey were striking a medi-cal facility” and that theattack on the hospital wasa result of human errorscompounded by “processand equipment failures,”he said.

“This was an extraordi-narily intense combatsituation,” Votel told re-porters. The troops on theground, he added, “weredoing a variety of actionsat the same time: Theywere trying to supporttheir Afghan partners,they were trying to exe-cute resupply operations,and they were trying toprotect themselves.”

But Votel was clear onone point: The hospitalwas a protected facilitythat was at no time beingused by active Talibanfighters, though somewounded insurgents hadbeen treated there. Hisstatement directly contra-dicted the claim by manysenior Afghan officialsthat the hospital was be-ing used by Taliban fight-ers and was therefore alegitimate target.

Still, the release of theinvestigation’s findingsand the announcement ofthe disciplinary measures,some of which were firstleaked by defense officialslast month, were unlikelyto satisfy Doctors WithoutBorders and other humanrights groups, many ofwhich have said the attackmay have constituted a

war crime and called foran independent criminalinvestigation.

After the announce-ment, Mdecins Sans Fron-tires, the French name ofDoctors Without Borders,reiterated its calls for anindependent investigation,saying in a statement “thatit cannot be satisfied solelywith a military investiga-tion.”

“Today’s briefingamounts to an admissionof an uncontrolled mil-itary operation in a dense-ly populated urban area,during which U.S. forcesfailed to follow the basiclaws of war,” said MeinieNicolai, the group’s presi-dent. “It is incomprehen-sible that, under the cir-cumstances described bythe U.S., the attack wasnot called off.”

John Sifton, the Asiapolicy director of HumanRights Watch, disputedVotel’s assertion that theairstrike did not constitutea war crime because it wasthe unintentional result ofmistakes and equipmentfailures, not an intentionalattack.

The failure to bring anycriminal charges was,“simply put, inexplicable,”Sifton said.

“Gen. Joseph Votel’sassertion that a war crimemust be deliberate, orintentional, is flatlywrong.” Sifton added. Hesaid that there are legalprecedents for war crimesprosecutions based onacts that were committed

with recklessness, andthat recklessness or negli-gence do not necessarilyabsolve someone of crimi-nal responsibility underthe U.S. military code.

The Afghan govern-ment said that it had seenthe report and that it wel-comed the decision todiscipline U.S. troops. ButDawa Khan Meenapal, aspokesman for PresidentAshraf Ghani, declined toelaborate when asked ifthe Afghan governmenthad reversed its conclu-sion that the hospital wasbeing used by the Talibanfighters.

The broad outlines ofwhat took place in Kun-duz, which days earlierhad been overrun by Tali-ban fighters, were estab-lished in the weeks andmonths after the attack: AU.S. AC-130 gunship,responding to a call forsupport from Afghancommandos who said theywere under fire, mistookthe hospital for the in-tended target — a buildingin the city being used as abase by the Taliban — andunleashed sustained andrepeated barrages from itsheavy guns on the medicalfacility, despite franticcalls from Doctors With-out Borders to militarycommanders.

Friday’s announcementand the release of thereport by investigators,which runs more than3,000 pages, provided themost detailed accountingof the events to date.

Pentagon says mistakes led to hospitalattack in AfghanistanBy Matthew RosenbergNEW YORK TIME S

LOS ANGELES — Theman who bought therifles used in the SanBernardino terror attackhas asked that his trial bepushed back by eightmonths to March of nextyear, according to a courtfiling Friday.

Attorneys for EnriqueMarquez Jr. argued in thefiling that there was toomuch evidence involvedto make a July trial datepractical or fair to theirclient. Instead, they wantthe trial to start on March21.

“This case is so unusu-al and so complex that itis unreasonable to expectadequate preparation” byJuly, the filing states.

The government’s evi-dence includes more than8,500 documents and 500

hours of audio interviewsof witnesses.

The filing also saidfederal prosecutors don’tobject to a delay.

A spokesman for theU.S. Attorney’s Officedeclined to comment.

Marquez pleaded notguilty in January to con-spiring with one of the

San Bernardino shootersand to providing materialsupport to terrorists.

During 10 days of in-terviews, Marquez re-vealed that he bought tworifles for his longtimefriend, Syed RizwanFarook, in 2011 and 2012,according the criminalcomplaint against him.

Marquez told agentsthe two discussed butnever carried out plans tolaunch bomb and shoot-ing attacks at a communi-ty college and a notori-ously gridlocked sectionof highway without exits,according to the com-plaint.

Using guns Marquezhad bought, Farook andhis wife, Tashfeen Malik,massacred 14 of his co-workers on Dec. 2 at anannual training in SanBernardino before thecouple was killed in ashootout with police.

It was the deadliestterror strike on U.S. soilsince Sept. 11, 2001.

Authorities said Mar-quez was not involved inthe killings, but his fail-ure to warn authoritiesabout Farook and hispurchase of the guns haddeadly consequences.

Gun buyer in San Bernardino attackasks to delay trialBy Amanda Lee MyersASSOCIATED PRE SS

Damian Dovarganes / AP

Members of the media surround Rafia Farook, themother of Syed Raheel Farook, as she leaves court.

ZfronteraTHE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | A7

SAN ANTONIO — Oficialesdel Alguacil del Condado Bex-ar investigan un caso de abusoinfantil después que descubrie-ran a dos niños llorando, ata-dos y encadenados en un patioal Noreste del Condado Bexas,el jueves por la noche.

James Keith, vocero del Al-guacil para el Condado Bexar,dijo que los oficiales recibieronun reporte por parte de unresidente en el área alrededorde las 11:45 p.m. acerca de unposible abuso de menor en unacasa ubicada en la cuadra 8100de Chipping, una subdivisióncercana a los caminos NewWorld y Montgomery.

Cuando los oficiales toma-ron una escalera para aso-marse al patio, vieron a unniño de 2 años de edad encade-nado al suelo, y a una niña de 3años de edad atada a la puertacon una correa para perro.

Oficiales se introdujeron al

patio y liberaron a los niños,quienes fueron trasladados aun hospital del área para serrevisados. Keith dijo que laniña tenía un brazo quebrado yfue llevada a la unidad de cui-dados intensivos.

Autoridades se introdujerona la casa y encontraron a otrosseis niños cuyas edades ibandesde los 10 meses hasta los 13años de edad, sin un adultosupervisando.

Mientras los investigadoresestaban en el lugar, los padresde los seis niños dentro de lacasa, llegaron a la residencia.

“Ellos fueron detenidos ytrasladados al centro y actu-almente están siendo investiga-dos", dijo Keith, agregando quese espera la madre enfrentecargos por abandono de me-nor. Cargos potenciales contrael padre no estuvieron dis-ponibles de forma inmediata.

CONDADO DE BEXAR

EncadenadosMark D. WilsonSAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS

Foto por John Davenport | San Antonio Express-News

La imagen muestra la casa en el 8105 Chipping donde niñosfueron supuestamente encadenados en el patio.

Ribereña enbreveRECOLECCIÓN DEMEDICAMENTOS1 La Coalición Co-munitaria del Conda-do de Zapata y la DEArealizarán el eventonacional Pill TakeBack (recolección demedicamentos) el 30de abril, de 10 a.m. a 2p.m. en el Palacio deJusticia del Condadode Zapata. Se buscanmedicamentos cadu-cos o que ya no seestén utilizando a finde retirarlos de formaapropiada. Informesen la oficina de SCANen el 956-765-3555.

CELEBRACIÓN DÍADEL NIÑO1 El Centro BethelMission OutreachCenter invita a todoslos niños a celebrar elDía del Niño el 1 demayo en 206 N. Beth-el, desde las 10:30a.m., en Roma. Habráun día de campodespués del servicioen el patio de la igle-sia. Los niños tambiénpodrán disfrutar depayasos, juegos deagua, brincolines ygrandes premios.Evento gratuito yabierto al público.Mayores informes al956-897-4550.

CELEBRACIONES1 Del lunes 2 de mayoal viernes 6 de mayose celebra la SemanaNacional de Agradeci-miento al Maestro. Entanto, el viernes 6 demayo es el Día Na-cional de la Enferme-ra, así como el día delHéroe de la ComidaEscolar.

STAAR1 El lunes 2 de mayose aplicará el examenSTAAR de Algebra 1; elmiércoles 4 de mayose aplicará el examenSTAAR de Historia deEU; y el jueves 5 demayo se aplicará elexamen STAAR deBiología.

El lunes 9 de mayose aplicará el examenSTAAR de matemát-icas a los alumnos de3o, 4o, 6o y 7o grado.Igualmente se reapli-cará el examen dematemáticas a al-umnos del 5o y 8ogrados. El martes 10de mayo se aplicará elexamen STAAR delectura a los alumnosde 3o, 4o, 6o y 7ogrado. Igualmente sereaplicará el examende lectura a alumnosdel 5o y 9o grados. Elmiércoles 11 de mayose aplicará el examenSTAAR de ciencia aalumnos del 5o y 9ogrados; igualmente elde Algebra II.

El jueves 12 demayo se aplicará elexamen STAAR deciencias sociales aalumnos del 8o grado.

El martes 21 dejunio se volverá aaplicar el examen dematemáticas a losalumnos del 5 y 8grados; el miércoles22 de junio, se reapli-cará el examen delectura para alumnosdel 5 y 8 grados.

El 11 de julio seaplicará el examen deInglés I y el 12 de julioel de Biología e Histo-ria de EU. El 13 de juliose hará lo propio conInglés II y el 14 de julioel de Algebra I.

CONSULADOMÓVIL1 El Consulado Gener-al de México informaque brindará el servi-cio de ConsuladoMóvil a los residentesdel Condado de Du-val, en el Civic Centerde la ciudad de SanDiego, Texas, ubicadoen 510 E. Gravis Ave,de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m., el14 de mayo.

Se proporcionaránservicios básicoscomo expedición deMatrícula Consular.

Cuatro personas terminaron traslas rejas por transportar inmi-grantes indocumentados en elCondado de Zapata, de acuerdocon documentos de la corte.

Las autoridades identificaron aJosé Guadalupe Jiménez, CynthiaVerónica Rodríguez-Raya, Tonie JoAnn González-Pacheco y KarinaCruz-Madrid. Documentos indicanque trataron de contrabandear a 11inmigrantes que habían cruzado lafrontera de manera ilegal.

Una querella criminal emitida ellunes acusó a los sospechosos detrasladar inmigrantes indocu-mentados.

Autoridades indican que el in-tento de contrabando data del vi-ernes.

Ese día, agentes de la PatrullaFronteriza asignados al área nortede San Ygnacio respondieron a unallamada de un ciudadano preocu-pado. Reportes indican que unacamioneta blanca GMC y una FordExpedition verde estaban a la oril-la de US 83 posiblemente recogien-do inmigrantes indocumentados.

Alrededor de la 1:55 p.m.,agentes dijeron que vieron dosvehículos con esa descripción via-jando al norte en US 83. Losagentes siguieron los vehículospara una inspección más de cerca.

Una revisión de antecedentes ala GMC reveló que había sido roba-da en el Condado de Atascosa.Cuando los agentes intentaronhacer una inspección al vehículo,aceleró incontrolablemente hacía eltráfico contrario hasta que chocócon una camioneta estacionada, deacuerdo con documentos de lacorte. Un trabajador sostuvo heri-das menores, de acuerdo con re-portes.

Alrededor de ocho personassalieron de la GMC después delaccidente. Los agentes alcanzaronal conductor, Jiménez, y la pasajeraRodríguez-Raya y varios inmi-grantes.

Mientras tanto, un agente enuna unidad sin logotipos de laagencia continuó siguiendo la Ex-pedition. Los agentes observaronque la Expedition se estacionó enEspejo Molina Road, donde lospasajeros abandonaron el vehículo.Autoridades dijeron que lograronarrestar a la conductora y a lapasajera delantero. Ellas fueronidentificados como González-Pa-checo y Cruz Madrid, respectiva-mente.

Agentes especiales de SeguridadNacional respondieron para in-vestigar el intento de contrabando.

Los cuatro sospechosos accedie-ron a dar declaraciones posterioresal arresto.

Jiménez dijo a autoridades queRodríguez-Raya lo contrató pararecoger de seis a siete inmigrantespor 450 dólares. Rodríguez-Rayaindicó que estaba transportandoinmigrantes pero negó estar ob-teniendo una ganancia financiera.Ella también indicó que González-Pacheco había realizado todos lospreparativos para el transporte delos inmigrantes.

CONTRABANDO

Corte:TraíanoncepersonasPor César G. RodriguezTIEMP O DE ZAPATA

El día nacional conocidocomo Prescription Drug TakeBack del Drug EnforcementAdministration es hoy.

Es una oportunidad para quela comunidad se deshaga demanera segura de aquellasmedicinas de receta sin usar oque ya no se deseen en casa.Oficiales de la DEA dijeron queellos se deshacen de la medi-cina indeseada y no hacen pre-guntas a las personas llevando-las. El deshacerse de las medi-cinas de receta de forma in-apropiada o el tirarlas en eldrenaje crea un peligro para lasalud, de acuerdo con autori-dades.

Zapatenses pueden dejar susmedicamentos de receta que nodeseen el día de hoy en el Zapa-ta County Courthouse, 200avenida E. Seventh de 10 a.m. a2 p.m. Otros lugares para reca-bar medicinas han sido estable-cidos en Laredo y Cotulla.

AT&T - 10719 McPhersonRoad.

Estacionamiento de BurgerKing - 4407 S. Zapata Highway.

KGNS-TV - 120 W Del MarBlvd.

Laredo Fire DepartmentAdministration Center - 616 E.Del Mar Blvd.

Laredo Library - 1120 E. Cal-ton Road.

Lowe’s Grocery Store - 1203North Main en Cotulla.

Ryan Elementary - 2401Clark Blvd.

San Martin Church - 1704Sandman St.

Shirley Field - 2002 San

Bernardo Ave.Student Activity Center -

5208 Santa Claudia Lane.Uni-Trade Stadium - 6320

Sinatra Pkwy.El servicio es gratuito, de

acuerdo con las autoridades. Larecaudación será de 10 a.m. a 2p.m.

En septiembre, autoridadesrecaudaron más de 2.000 librasde medicamento de receto sinuso en el área de Laredo.

Veronica Jimenez, directoradel programa para el WebbCounty Community Coalitionof Serving Children and Adultsin Need, dijo que han visto unincremento en el abuso de me-dicamentos de receta en el Surde Texas.

Las drogas con receta estánlistas y disponibles en casaporque las personas no se desh-acen de ellas, dijo ella. La juven-tud tiene a abusar del Vicodin,OxyContin, estimulantes parael trastorno de hiperactividad,falta de atención y ansiedad,entre otras cosas.

“Hemos visto a muchos jó-venes abusando de los analgés-icos. Quieren drogarse tantoasí”, dijo Jiménez.

“Los medicamentos de recetaen las casas de las personas sonregularmente utilizan errónea-mente y se abusan de ellos. Lamayoría de los medicamentoscon receta de los que se abusason obtenidos de familiares yamigos”.

SALUD

DE FORMA SEGURA

Foto de archivo / Laredo Morning Times

Un voluntario coloca medicamentos en un contenedor seguro afin de que sea destruidos posteriormente Back.

PidenentregarmedicinasindeseadasPor César G. RodriguezTIEMP O DE ZAPATA

La Oficina del Alguacil delCondado de Zapata emitió unalerta por estafas esta semana.

El lunes, autoridades dijeronque han recibido varios reportesde llamadas telefónicas amena-zantes por parte de personasque se hacen pasar como em-pleados del IRS.

La Oficina del Alguacil dijoque “la agresiva estafa telefón-ica” busca a los adultos mayoresde la comunidad.

“Las personas sosteniendoque trabajan para el InternalRevenue Service (IRS) amena-zan con arrestar a las personassi no pagan impuestos retrasa-dos al IRS y dejan mensajes detexto sosteniendo que será pres-entada una demanda si no seregresa la llamada telefónica”,indica un comunicado de prensade la Oficina del Alguacil.

“Aunque estos peligrosos yastutos estafadores puedensonar convincentes y creíbles,ellos están muy distantes deserlo. Si recibe una llamada de

ese tipo, no permita ser estafa-do”.

Autoridades explicaron que elIRS jamás realizará las si-guientes cosas:

El IRS nunca le llamará a sucasa demandando el pago in-mediato de cualquier impuesto através del teléfono.

Más aún, el IRS nunca pre-guntará por la información desu tarjeta de crédito o débito através del teléfono.

El IRS nunca demandará quepague sus impuestos utilizandoun método específico como una

tarjeta de débito de prepago.El IRS nunca lo amenazará

con arrestarlo por no pagar susimpuestos.

Las personas que sientan queestán siendo estafadas debencolgar y contactar a la Oficinadel Alguacil al 956-765-9960 o alInspector General de Tesoreríapara Administración de Impues-tos al 1-800-366-4484.

Para más información relacio-nada al IRS o alertas por estafaspuede visitar la página oficial dela oficina de gobierno enwww.irs.gov

OFICINA DEL ALGUACIL

Lanzan alerta ante estafas telefónicasPor César G. RodriguezTIEMP O DE ZAPATA

A8 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

INTERNATIONAL

HALHOUL, WestBank — Sharing a cellinside an Israeli prison,the Palestinian girlswould toss baskets andplay a game they calledshuffle ball. There wereacademic classes in theafternoon, and some-times, an Arab-Israeliprisoner known as Aun-tie Lina would braid theirhair.

In the evenings, Dimaal-Wawi, a 12-year-oldwho was arrested in Feb-ruary with a knife at theentrance to to an Israelisettlement in the occu-pied West Bank, wouldsing Palestinian national-ist anthems with IstabraqNoor, 14, who was ac-cused of trying to sneakinto a different settlementto attack Jewish residentsin October.

“Mom, I didn’t even cryonce!” Dima boastedupon being released Sun-day after serving abouthalf of her 4 1/2-monthsentence.

“Not even for us?”asked her mother, Sabha,47.

“Only under the cov-ers,” she replied. “Atnight.”

There were a dozensuch girls with similarcases in Israeli custodybefore Dima’s release, upfrom one in September,part of a surge in Pales-tinian minors incarcerat-ed during a wave of vio-lence that has killedabout 30 Israelis in thelast seven months. AssafLiberati, a spokesman forthe prison service, said

the number of Palestinianprisoners younger than 18more than doubled to 430from 170 before the stab-bings, shootings andvehicular attacks beganOct. 1; 103 of them were 16or younger, up from 32.

“It’s the biggest num-ber that we know,” Libe-rati said.

The increase reflects abroad Israeli crackdownon young Palestinianswho throw stones orotherwise confront sol-diers and civilians amidan outbreak of attacks inwhich nearly half thesuspects were teenagers.It has renewed a debateover how Israel’s militaryjustice system, whichprosecutes Palestiniansfrom the West Bank,differs from the courtsthat cover Israeli citizensand Palestinian residentsof Jerusalem, and espe-cially how it handles veryyoung offenders.

“Nobody doubts whatshe did,” Sarit Michaeli ofthe Israeli human rightsgroup B’tselem said ofDima, “but if she was anIsraeli child, it would be

impossible under Israelilaw to sentence a childthis young for an actualjail term.

“They don’t see a smallgirl,” Michaeli added.“They think of them asterrorists.”

Israel has enactedsome changes since a 2013UNICEF report describedabuses in the militarycourt system as “wide-spread, systematic andinstitutionalized.” Theage at which suspects canbe prosecuted as adultswas raised to 18 from 16; aseparate youth court wascreated; and the amountof time minors can bedetained without appear-ing before a judge was cutto 48 hours from 96hours for 15-year-olds andto 24 hours for those 14and under.

Palestinian lawyershave had some luck per-suading judges to sendyoung detainees to homesfor troubled youths, arecourse that was offeredto Dima but rejected byher parents. At least threehave been sent to homes,Dima’s lawyers said.

Surge in Palestinianyouths in prison testsIsrael’s justice systemBy Diaa HadidNEW YORK TIME S

Rina Castelnuovo / NYT

Dima al-Wawi, 12, welcomes guests at her home afterher release from an Israeli prison.

WARSAW, Poland — Aprivate Polish companysaid it has ended its con-tracts with two well-known state-owned studfarms after managerswere replaced by thegovernment, highlightingthe turmoil surroundingthe farms that featureArabian and other horses.

The Polturf companycut contracts with farmsin Michalow and in JanowPodlaski, where it hadorganized prestigiousauctions of Arabian hors-es. Polturf co-owner Bar-bara Mazurek said on thecompany’s website thatthe decision was dictatedby a “lack of cooperation”on the part of the studs’

new management aheadof an auction planned forAugust.

The head of the stateAgricultural PropertyAgency, Waldemar Hu-miecki, said Friday thatthe Aug. 15 auction will goahead as planned but willbe organized by a newcompany, Poznan In-ternational Fair, whichhas a long history of orga-nizing business fairs andother events.

The government un-expectedly replaced theinternationally recognizedheads of the farms inFebruary and opened aninvestigation into allegedmismanagement duringtheir terms, including thedeath of a precious marein Janow Podlaski in

October.The fired managers

have denied any wrong-doing.

Since their dismissal,however, two mares —both belonging to ShirleyWatts, the wife of RollingStones drummer CharlieWatts — have died atJanow Podlaski, prompt-ing Watts and some otherbreeders to remove theirhorses from the farm. Thedeaths are also underinvestigation by veteri-nary authorities and pros-ecutors.

Since 1970, the beauty ofArabian horses bred inPoland has drawn breed-ers from around theworld to the auctions heldyearly at the Janow Po-dlaski farm.

Polish firm cuts contracts withtwo stud farms amid turmoilASSOCIATED PRE SS

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | A9

BUSINESS

Oil dropped from afive-month high in NewYork as surging OPECcrude production is seenswelling global stock-piles.

Futures fell for thefirst time in four daysafter a Bloomberg surveyshowed the Organizationof Petroleum ExportingCountries boosted out-put in April. Productionrose by 484,000 barrelsto 33.217 million a day,the most in monthly datagoing back to 1989, thesurvey of oil companies,producers and analystsshowed. Oil climbed 20percent in April, thebiggest monthly gain in ayear as the dollar tum-bles and U.S. crude out-put slips.

"The OPEC produc-tion estimates are put-ting pressure on themarket," said John Kil-duff, partner at AgainCapital LLC, a New Yorkhedge fund focused onenergy. "Iran is reallyramping up productionsince sanctions werelifted in January. Supplyis unrelenting."

Oil has reboundedafter slumping to thelowest since 2003 inFebruary amid signs theglobal glut will ease asU.S. output falls. WhileU.S. production hasslipped below 9 millionbarrels a day, crudestockpiles have contin-ued to expand, climbingto the most since 1929,according to data fromthe Energy InformationAdministration.

West Texas Intermedi-ate for June delivery fell 11cents to settle at $45.92 abarrel on the New YorkMercantile Exchange.The contract touched$46.78, the highest in-traday price since Nov. 4.Futures climbed 5 per-cent this week.

Persian ResurgenceBrent for June settle-

ment slipped 1 cent to$48.13 a barrel on theLondon-based ICE Fu-tures Europe exchange.The contract expiresFriday. The more-activeJuly future fell 40 centsto $47.37. The globalbenchmark crude closedat a $2.21 premium toWTI for June delivery.

Iranian output rose by300,000 barrels a day to3.5 million, the highestlevel since December2011. Sanctions againstthe nation, which werestrengthened in July2012, were lifted in Janu-

ary. Iran is boostingproduction after penal-ties were removed uponcompletion of an agree-ment limiting its nuclearprogram.

WTI is up 20 percentthis month as the reper-cussions of tumbling oilprices and reducedspending by companiescurb U.S. production.U.S. crude output de-clined to the lowest levelsince October 2014 andthe dollar dropped.

The number of activeoil rigs fell to 332 thisweek, the least sinceNovember 2009, accord-ing to Baker Hughes Inc.The total is down to lessthan a fourth of the 2014peak.

Persistent Fall"We are now seeing a

persistent fall in U.S.crude production, whichis the key to the marketmoving roughly intobalance during the sec-ond half of the year," saidMike Wittner, head of oilmarkets at Societe Gen-erale SA in New York.

The Bloomberg DollarSpot Index, which tracksthe U.S. currency versus10 counterparts, fell asmuch as 0.7 percent tothe lowest level sinceMay. A weak greenbackbolsters the appeal ofcommodities priced inthe currency as a store ofvalue.

Gasoline futures forMay delivery slipped 0.8percent to close at $1.5848a gallon after earliertouching $1.6041, thehighest since August 31.May diesel dropped 1.9percent to $1.3779 afterreaching the highestlevel since November.The May gasoline anddiesel contracts expiredtoday.

Oil-market news:1 Exxon Mobil Corp.posted its weakest quar-terly profit in more thana decade as first-quarternet income fell to $1.81billion from $4.94 billiona year earlier.1 Chevron Corp. report-ed a loss that was doubleanalysts’ estimates amidan oil-market collapsethat’s sparked currencycrises, corporate bank-ruptcies, credit down-grades and hundreds ofthousands of layoffsacross the industry.1 ConocoPhillips is pull-ing some of its assets offthe market as a pro-longed industry down-turn makes it harder toget the desired prices,according to Chief Exec-utive Officer Ryan Lance.

Oil falls as surgingOPEC productionworsens global glutBy Mark ShenkBLOOMBERG NEWS

U.S. stocks fell, withthe Standard & Poor’s 500Index posting the worsttwo-day drop since Feb-ruary, amid lacklusterearnings and few signs ofa pickup in economicgrowth.

Equities reboundedsharply in the final hourof trading, with the S&P500 cutting its worst loss-es by more than half.Corporate reports jostledstocks, as Gilead SciencesInc. retreated 9 percent,the biggest drag on thebenchmark after its profitmissed estimates. AppleInc. slumped for a seventhsession a day after CarlIcahn said he cashed outhis stake in the company.Amazon.com Inc. surgedafter posting better-than-estimated results.

The S&P 500 declined0.5 percent to 2,065.40 at 4p.m. in New York, ekingout a 0.3 percent gain forthe month, while losing 1.3percent this week, themost since February.

“A lot of optimism cameinto the market last weekas we crossed 2,100, whichmakes it vulnerable to ashort-term pullback, andthat’s what we’re gettingright now,” said BruceBittles, chief investmentstrategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird,

which oversees $110 bil-lion. “The weakness thatdeveloped yesterday andtoday has stemmed fromweak earnings. The mar-ket is being supported byvery favorable monetarypolicy, but valuations arevery stretched and earn-ings aren’t comingthrough.”

As policy makers andinvestors assess thehealth of the world’s big-gest economy, a reporttoday added to concernsgrowth is struggling togain traction. Consumerspending rose less thanforecast in March, wrap-ping up the weakest quar-ter in a year for the big-gest part of the U.S. econ-omy even as incomesaccelerated. Faster wagegrowth may be needed tohelp encourage American

consumers to spend morefreely and jump start aneconomy coming off itsweakest performance intwo years.

A separate measureshowed consumer confi-dence fell to a seven-month low in April asAmericans’ expectationsabout economic growthdropped to the lowestpoint since September2014. Trader bets for aFederal Reserve interest-rate rise in June havefallen to 14 percent from20 percent a week ago,while the first meetingwith at least even odds foran increase has beenpushed back a month toDecember.

Energy producers arethe strongest April per-formers in the S&P 500,tracking crude to a five-

month high. Technologystocks have been batteredby a batch of weaker-than-forecast earningsfrom heavyweights suchas Apple, Microsoft Corp.and Google parent Al-phabet Inc. The groupcapped its for the worstmonth since August.

Rally StumblesThe benchmark equity

index had rebounded asmuch as 15 percent from a22-month low in Febru-ary, though the rally fal-tered this week amidcorporate earnings dis-appointments. The gaugereached a four-monthhigh on April 20, brieflycoming within 1 percent ofa record set last May.

More than half of S&P500 members have report-ed earnings this season,with 77 percent beatingprofit forecasts and 57percent exceeding salesexpectations. Analystsstill project a 8.2 percentdecline in first-quarterprofit for the index’s com-panies, compared withforecasts for flat growth atthe start of the year.

“Even with the betternumbers you’ve had fromFacebook and Amazon,that’s not going to helpthe rest of the market,”said Michael James, man-aging director of equitytrading at Wedbush Secu-rities Inc. in Los Angeles.

U.S. stocks slip amid earningsreports, consumer spending dataBy Joseph CiolliBLOOMBERG NEWS

Michael Nagle / Bloomberg

Traders work on the floor of the New York StockExchange in New York, on Friday. Stocks slipped fora second day.

U.S. natural gas futuressurged to the highestprice since January afteran explosion on a majorinterstate pipeline cur-tailed supplies as a springchill boosted heatingdemand.

Prices jumped after thefire and explosion dis-rupted shipments on aPennsylvania segment ofSpectra Energy Corp.’sTexas Eastern line, whichcarries the fuel from theGulf Coast to New York.The pipeline system hadbeen transporting to theeast 1.3 billion cubic feetof gas a day through theDelmont compressor inWestmoreland County,according to BloombergNew Energy Finance.

The pipeline blast iscrimping supplies as thecoldest weather sincemid-April stokes gasconsumption in the

Northeast. Gas futurescapped a second straightmonthly gain on spec-ulation that low priceswill reduce output fromshale formations asweather-driven demandtrims the biggest seasonalstockpile glut in fouryears.

“It seems like this is aslightly delayed pricereaction to the news ofthe pipeline explosion,”Kyle Cooper, director ofresearch at IAF Advisorsin Houston, said byphone. “We have somebelow-normal tempera-tures in the Northeast,which is compoundingconcerns about supplyconstraints.”

Natural gas for Junedelivery rose 10 cents, or4.8 percent, to $2.178 permillion British thermalunits on the New YorkMercantile Exchange, thehighest settlement sinceJan. 29. Gas climbed 11percent this month.

U.S. natural gas jumps to 13-weekhigh after pipeline explosionBy Christine BuurmaBLOOMBERG NEWS

Kerry Jobe / AP

In this photo taken by Salem Township SupervisorKerry Jobe, first responders work the scene during anatural gas explosion at a nearby pipeline complexin Greensburg, Pa., Friday.

A10 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

Powers said hersprawling district had apolicy that allowedstudents 16 and older tochoose to enroll in aGED program, and thatonce the programclosed, students couldcontinue studying in a“similar” program at alocal nonprofit. Butattorneys and advo-cates said their clientsweren’t given thechoice to attend amainstream highschool, and that theMemphis nonprofit didnot teach English.

America’s schoolsremain one of the fewgovernment institu-tions where migrantyouth are guaranteedservices, but the federalgovernment has ex-tended little money oroversight to monitorwhether that happens,in part because schoolsare locally governed.

Since fall 2013, thefederal government hasplaced nearly 104,000unaccompanied minorswith adult sponsors incommunities nation-wide, where they areexpected to attendschool while they seeklegal status in immigra-tion court. Monthslater, during the dra-matic surge of illegalcrossings at the border,the Education andJustice departmentsissued joint guidancereminding districts thata 1982 Supreme Courtruling established thatstates cannot denychildren a free publiceducation, regardless ofimmigration status.

For students learningEnglish, guidance saysschool districts mustprovide appropriatelanguage assistanceservices so studentscan participate equallyin the standard in-structional programwithin a reasonableperiod of time.

Districts found tohave broken the lawcan be forced to changetheir enrollment pol-icies, but making thathappen is not easy. Tostart, few migrant chil-dren understand theirrights.

Students and theiradvocates can sue dis-tricts or file complaintswith the Education orJustice departments,but investigations arebacklogged and typical-ly result in civil sanc-tions, said Lisa Carmo-na, senior attorneywith the nonprofitSouthern Poverty LawCenter.

Many local schooldistricts have stretchedto find the resourcesand staff to meet theeducational needs ofthese students, whooften carry emotionaltrauma, have gaps intheir education and areolder than other En-glish-language learn-ers.

To determine wherethat was not happen-ing, the AP analyzedfederal data to identifyareas where the num-ber of migrant childrenwas relatively largewhen compared topublic school enroll-ment, along with thenumber of studentsformally learning En-glish.

In Alabama, Califor-nia, Florida, Louisiana,Maryland, Massachu-setts, Mississippi, NewJersey, New York,North Carolina, Ohio,Tennessee, Texas andSouth Carolina, socialworkers and attorneystold AP that migrantstudents have beenbarred from enrolling,kept out of class formonths due or routedto reform schools andadult programs. Thefull extent of how theCentral American mi-nors are faring inschools is unknownbecause the govern-ment does not releasedata on counties where

fewer than 50 minorshave been placed,which means informa-tion was not providedfor about 25,000 of themigrants.

Spokeswomen forthe Education andJustice departmentswould not say howmany of the nation’sroughly 14,000 schooldistricts have beeninvestigated for suchfailures.

“We remain commit-ted to working withfederal partners andcommunity-based orga-nizations to addressany issues that un-accompanied children .may face in dealingwith the educationsystem,” Educationspokeswoman DorieNolt said.

All children mustattend school until atleast the eighth gradeor until they turn 16under compulsoryeducation laws in all 50states. Students canenroll beyond that agein many states.

Some districts havegone to extraordinarylengths to accommo-date the students, whooften come to join rela-tives, sometimes escap-ing criminal gangs orextreme poverty. Onedistrict in rural Kansasrerouted a school busto ensure a group ofunaccompanied teensmade it to class. A SanFrancisco high schoolrewrote young-adultnovels at a basic level tospark the newcomers’interest in reading.

In March 2015, feder-al officials made $14million in grants avail-able for county schooldistricts where thegovernment placedmore than 50 unaccom-panied minors. But thatamounts to less than$175 for each unaccom-panied child placed inthose counties sinceOctober 2013, whichmany districts sayleaves them to cover toomuch of the cost.

MIGRANTFrom page A1

side of Espejo MolinaRoad, where the occupantshad abandoned the vehi-cle. Authorities said theywere able to arrest thedriver and front passenger.They were identified asGonzalez-Pacheco andCruz-Madrid, respectively.

Homeland SecurityInvestigations specialagents responded to in-vestigate the smuggling

attempt. All four suspectsallegedly agreed to providepost-arrest statements.

Jimenez told authoritiesthat Rodriguez-Raya hiredhim to pick up six to sevenimmigrants for $450. Ro-driguez-Raya stated shewas transporting immi-grants but denied financialgain. She further statedthat Gonzalez-Pacheco hadmade all the arrangementsfor the transportation ofthe immigrants.

Gonzalez-Pacheco saidshe accepted an offer from

Rodriguez-Raya to accom-pany her to drop off im-migrants to an unknownlocation. Rodriguez-Rayaallegedly agreed to pay heran undetermined amountfor transporting the im-migrants.

Gonzalez-Pacheco fur-ther stated that Cruz-Ma-drid agreed to go with herknowing that she wouldget paid an undeterminedamount of money, accord-ing to court documents.Cruz-Madrid denied thoseallegations, records show.

SMUGGLERSFrom page A1

FROM THE COVER

ALBUQUERQUE,N.M. — Nearly 3,000indigenous dancers re-presenting hundreds oftribes from across theUnited States, Canadaand other parts of theworld kicked off one ofNorth America’s mostprominent powwows onFriday.

With beating drumsand jingling bells, thedancers twisted their wayfrom the top steps downinto the well of Universityof New Mexico Arena,spiraling clockwise untilthe arena floor waspacked.

Spectators caughtglimpses of featheredbustles, buckskin dresses,elaborate outfits withhand-stitched designsand hair pieces coveredwith intricate beadwork.

It’s no doubt a show-case of indigenous cul-tures and a means topreserving tradition, butit’s also about competi-tion.

“A lot of these dancers

— most of these dancersin fact — train year-round for this first eventof the year, of the pow-wow season,” said LarryYazzie, a champion danc-er himself and founder ofNative Pride Arts.“They’re like athletes.They run, they bike,weightlifting, eat right,whatever they can to getthat edge out there on thedance arena.”

Most dancers at theGathering of Nationscompete for prize moneyduring the weekend pow-wow.

Organizers say theannual event draws morethan 100,000 people toAlbuquerque.

Friday marked a spe-cial day for the powwow.Dancers took to the floorearly to honor SpikeDraper, an award-win-ning fancy dancer fromFarmington, New Mexico,who died last year in ahorse accident.

Draper was namedposthumously the headman dancer this year, oneof the highest recogni-tions within the powwowworld. Draper’s fatherdanced in his place dur-

ing Friday’s grand entry.Head dancers are cho-

sen each year based ontheir experience andnotoriety on the pow-wow circuit.

Representing youngwomen this year is JaydaGadwa, a fancy shawldancer from the Kehe-win Cree Nation in Al-berta, Canada. Gadwahas been dancing sinceshe was old enough towalk.

So what’s it like to bein the heart of the arena,where the beating drumsand pounding feet makefor an almost deafeningrhythmic rumble?

“Good vibes allaround,” Gadwa said ofthe feeling.

But there’s also a seri-ousness that the compet-itors talk about, onerooted in years of prac-tice and lessons aboutwhat the dances mean.Then there’s the pres-sure to absorb it all forthe sake of passing it onto the next generation.

“It’s important. I be-lieve us native, aborigi-nal people wouldn’t beanyone without our cul-ture,” Gadwa said.

Indigenous dancerscompete at largest powwowBy Susan MontoyaBryanASSOCIATED PRE SS

Sports&OutdoorsTHE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | B1

The only other run-ning back to go higherfor Dallas was Hall ofFamer Tony Dorsett atNo. 2 in 1977. And all-time NFL rushing leaderEmmitt Smith, anotherplayer in the Hall ofFame, went 17th in 1990,the second draft underJones.

“I’m glad that myname’s even up therewith those guys,” saidElliott, the No. 2 all-timerusher at Ohio Statebehind two-time Heis-

IRVING — EzekielElliott already has a loftyspot in Dallas Cowboyslore. Now the formerOhio State running backhas to try to live up to it.

The Cowboys tookElliott with the No. 4overall pick in the NFLdraft Thursday night, thehighest spot for a run-ning back in the 26 yearsthat Jerry Jones has beenthe team’s owner andgeneral manager.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Dallas’ EZ decision

Photo by Jon Durr | Getty Images

Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott was selected by the Cowboys with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016NFL Draft.

Cowboys take Elliott withNo. 4 pick in NFL Draft

By Schuyler DixonASSOCIATED PRE SS

Cowboys continues on B2

Photo by Jon Durr | Getty Images

Elliott will join a RB group including DarrenMcFadden, Alfred Morris and Lance Dunbar.

him.”Fuller had 62 recep-

tions for 1,258 yards and14 touchdowns last sea-son for the FightingIrish. It was his secondstraight 1,000-yard re-ceiving season after hehad a career-high 76receptions for 1,094 yardsand 15 touchdowns —also a career-best — in2014. He had one receiv-ing touchdown as afreshman to give him 30,second in school history.

He said his only con-tact with the Texans wasat the combine, but hewas encouraged by thatvisit.

“I felt good about itbecause I knew they

HOUSTON — TheHouston Texans neededa receiver to play withDeAndre Hopkins, andwere willing to trade upto get him.

Houston selectedNotre Dame receiver WillFuller, trading theirsixth-round pick toWashington to move upone spot to take him atNo. 21 overall in the NFLdraft Thursday night.

“He was a guy we feltstrongly about we didn’ttake a chance on notgetting him,” generalmanager Rick Smithsaid. “So we were aggres-sive and we went andmade the move.”

Hopkins made his firstPro Bowl last seasonafter finishing third inthe NFL with 1,521 yardsreceiving. But the Texanswere looking for anothertop-tier receiver to takesome pressure off the23-year-old Hopkins,who faced near constantdouble teams last season,and give new quarter-back Brock Osweileranother target as hetakes over Houston’soffense.

“I’m super excited tobe playing with DeAndreHopkins,” Fuller said. “Ihad a teammate on NotreDame from South Caroli-na. That’s all he talkedabout was Hopkins. I’mvery aware of how goodhe is. I can’t wait to playon the same team as

NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS

Texans tradeup to get WRWill FullerBy Kristie RiekenASSOCIATED PRE SS

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Houston moved up topick 21 Thursday night toselect speedy NotreDame wide receiver WillFuller.

Texans continues on B2

DAVIE, Fla. — LaremyTunsil kept repeating thesame answer to questionsabout his freefall in theNFL draft, the socialmedia hacking that costhim millions and theinvestigation he stirred atOle Miss.

“I’m just here to talkabout the Miami Dol-phins,” Tunsil said sever-al times Friday.

At his introductorynews conference with theDolphins, the big tackletried to tamp down thefuror surrounding hisslide to the 13th pick inthe draft.

Touted at one time as a

potential No. 1 overallchoice, the Mississippitackle fell into Miami’slap after a video wasposted on his Twitteraccount shortly before thedraft showing him smok-ing from a gas mask con-nected to a bong.

Another post on hisInstagram showed analleged text exchange

with an Ole Miss footballstaff member that in-cluded Tunsil’s requestfor money. The universitysaid it will investigate.

On Thursday, Tunsilsaid both accounts hadbeen hacked — a cyber-attack likely costing himmore than $10 million. Hedeclined to elaborate

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: MIAMI DOLPHINS

Photo by Lynne Sladky | AP

Miami head coach Adam Gase and executive vicepresident Mike Tannenbaum pose with first-rounddraft pick Laremy Tunsil at the team's trainingfacilty on Friday.

Tunsil addresses his NFLDraft controversyBy Steven WineASSOCIATED PRE SS

Dolphins continues on B2

OKLAHOMA CITY —Two years ago, the Thun-der’s Kevin Durant tweet-ed that Kawhi Leonardwas a good player whogot a lot of help from theSan Antonio Spurs’ sys-tem.

Durant recognizes theLeonard Oklahoma Cityis about to square offagainst is much more. Infact, Durant is so im-pressed that he checkshow Leonard performseach game.

“He’s grown so much,”Durant said. “He’s prob-

ably the best in the leagueat shooting the mid-range(jumper) off the dribble.He posts up, dribbles, canshoot the three, catch andshoot. Their team, theirsystem, their continuityand how they move al-lows him to get free a lotof times and utilizes hisgame.”

Durant respect forLeonard has also grownover the years.

After Leonard wasnamed Finals MVP in2014, Durant said onTwitter he would takeIndiana’s Paul Georgeover Leonard, and thatLeonard was “doing work

like this because of thesystem.”

Durant later clarified,saying he meant no disre-spect to Leonard, he sim-ply liked George better.Last month, Durant, un-prompted, said Leonardis not a “system player.”

On Saturday, Durantand Leonard will renewacquaintances in Game 1of the Western Confer-ence semifinals in SanAntonio.

Their individual match-up will be worth keepingan eye on.

Durant is a four-timescoring champion who

Photo by Sue Ogrocki | AP

San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant highlight thematchups that will be featured in the Western Conference Semifinals.

NBA: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Spurs, Thunder nearWest SemifinalsBy Cliff BruntASSOCIATED PRE SS

Spurs continues on B2

B2 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

needed a receiver whocould open the field upand I felt like I fit thatmold perfectly,” Fullersaid.

At 6-foot and 184pounds, Fuller isn’t allthat big, but his 4.3240-yard dash speed

should help him becomea deep threat in coachBill O’Brien’s offense. Hisspeed is what Smithvalued most about him.

“He’s fast,” Smith said.“Not only is he juststraight line 40-yarddash fast, this guy playsextremely fast and quick.And adding that elementto our offense we all justfelt would really enhance

what we do offensivelywith the creativity thatthese guys have on ouroffensive staff.”

O’Brien is very famil-iar with Fuller after try-ing to recruit him whilecoaching at Penn State.

“We saw this guy atour high school campwhen I was the headcoach there and we of-fered him right away

there when we saw himrun around and do someof the things he wasdoing in high school,”O’Brien said.

O’Brien said Fullerwill begin his career asan outside receiver, butthey’ll move him aroundas he gets a grasp of theoffense. The Texans needto upgrade their returngame and O’Brien said

they’ll give Fuller achance to showcase hisblazing speed by tryinghim out returning kicksand punts.

Fuller attended highschool at Roman Catholicin Philadelphia, butdidn’t realize he wasfollowing in the footstepsof a former NFL starreceiver until he was wellinto his prep career.

“I actually never metMarvin Harrison,” hesaid. “I’m still lookingforward to that. But hedefinitely was someonewho I looked up to beinga young kid watching thegame. He’s one of thebest, and I didn’t evenfigure out he went to thesame high school as meuntil I broke one of hisrecords.”

TEXANSFrom page B1

man Trophy winnerArchie Griffin. “I defi-nitely don’t consider it aburden. I think I’m at mybest in hard situations,situations of pressure.”

Elliott has somethingof a head start. He wasthe star when the Buck-eyes won the nationalchampionship at the $1.2billion home of the Cow-boys during the 2014season, rushing for anOhio State bowl-record246 yards with fourtouchdowns in a 42-20victory over Oregon.

“It’s crazy how thingswork,” Elliott said. “I amvery familiar with ‘JerryLand.’ I’m pretty excitedto get back to ‘Jerry Land’and put on a show.”

Running back wasn’tthe biggest need goinginto the draft with Dar-ren McFadden coming offa strong season and theCowboys adding two-time Pro Bowler AlfredMorris from Washingtonin free agency. But theCowboys will get to putthe top-rated runningback in the draft behindone of the NFL’s bestoffensive lines. Dallastook blockers in the firstround three times in aspan of four seasonsstarting in 2011.

“We think we’ve got achance to have a founda-tion player,” Jones said.

The Cowboys also hada strong interest in Mem-phis quarterback PaxtonLynch, who went to Den-ver at No. 26 when theBroncos moved up six

picks in a trade withSeattle. Jones said Dallas,holding the third pick inthe second round at No.34 overall, was close to adeal.

Jones said he wasn’tsure what that meant forthe rest of the draft atquarterback with theCowboys, who are tryingto find Tony Romo’sbackup and possibly hisreplacement.

The Cowboys had ahigh draft pick in partbecause Romo missed 12games with a twice-brokeleft collarbone, leading toa worst-to-first slide inthe NFC East and a 4-12record.

“If you’re going to havea young one, you wanthim on the field and youwant him playing games,but you really don’t want

him playing games,”Jones said. “You wantRomo playing in all thegames.”

The Cowboys decidedto spend their highestpick since 1991 at runningback a year after electingnot to re-sign 2014 NFLrushing champion De-Marco Murray in freeagency. The Dallas run-ning attack was inconsis-tent early last seasonwithout Murray, improv-ing only after McFaddenreplaced lead back Jo-seph Randle six gamesinto the season. TheCowboys eventually re-leased Randle.

“I think that meansthat they have a lot oftrust in me,” Elliott said.“But there are a lot ofbattle-tested runningbacks in that room. I do

not think at summer’send I will start. That’s ajob I’m going to have toearn.”

If Elliott can win thestarting job over McFad-den and Morris, he willget a chance to play withRomo and 2014 All-Proreceiver Dez Bryant.

Romo’s injury was thebiggest problem for Dal-las last season, but Bry-ant was out five gamesafter breaking his rightfoot in the opener. Healso missed the final twogames as the injury con-tinued to bother him allseason.

“I think we can be athree-headed monster,”Elliott said.

The 6-foot, 225-poundElliott finished with 3,961yards at Ohio State, de-claring for the draft after

his junior season. Heholds the school recordfor rushing yards inconsecutive seasons with3,699 in 2014-15.

In the inaugural Col-lege Football Playoff towrap up the 2014 season,Elliott rushed for 476yards in two games,starting with 230 in avictory over Alabama.

Dallas’ biggest needgoing into the draft wasdefensive end, but toptarget Joey Bosa, a team-mate of Elliott at OhioState, went to San Diegowith the third pick. TheCowboys were alsostrongly consideringFlorida State’s JalenRamsey at defensive backafter finishing last in theNFL in takeaways in2015. Ramsey went fifthto Jacksonville.

COWBOYSFrom page B1

Friday.“I don’t know nothing

about that,” he said.Tunsil hinted only

once at any bitternessregarding what hadtranspired, while sayinghe felt blessed to join theDolphins.

“They gave me achance,” he said. “I’mgoing to show them whyI’m the best player — Ishould be — in the draft.”

The tale took yet an-other strange twist whenthe news conferencestarted more than anhour late because Tunsilsuffered an allergic re-action while at the Dol-phins’ complex.

Was it Tunsilitis? Hesaid it had happenedbefore and probably re-sulted from something heate.

“The doctor took careof me, so I’m good,” hesaid.

The risky decision topick a player 12 otherteams passed on wasendorsed by executivevice president of footballoperations Mike Tannen-baum, general managerChris Grier and coachAdam Gase.

“A no-brainer,” Gasesaid.

“A great moment forour organization,” Tan-

nenbaum said.“Some people are say-

ing this guy was the bestplayer in the draft,” Griersaid.

Yeah, but. The bizarresocial media posts rein-forced Tunsil’s reputationfor off-field issues.

He sat out the 2015season’s first seven gamesafter the NCAA ruledthat he received improperbenefits, including theuse of three loaner carsover a six-month period.His stepfather reportedlyfiled a lawsuit againsthim Tuesday related to aconfrontation in June,when the men were bothcharged with domesticviolence against eachother — charges laterdismissed.

The Dolphins havebeen stung before byplayers with characterissues. A bullying scan-dal sabotaged their 2013season, and their first-round pick three yearsago, Dion Jordan, sat outlast season serving asuspension for violatingthe NFL’s drug policy.

Choosing players withgood character remains apriority, Tannenbaumsaid.

“We remain committedto that,” he said. “All ofthe decision makers inthe room last night feelgood about Laremy as aplayer and a person. Ob-viously there have been

some bumps in the road,but we’re comfortablewith that. We think hehas a bright future on thefield as well as off.”

Tunsil’s new team-mates expressed supportfor him. QuarterbackRyan Tannehill sent hima welcoming text.

“Welcome to the famLaremy ... we got you,”running back Jay Ajayitweeted.

“Congrats Laremy, timeto get to work!!!” receiverDeVante Parker tweeted.

Because Tunsil has hadconduct involving sub-stance abuse, he could bereferred for evaluationand possible entry intothe league substance-abuse program. He wouldundergo counseling butthere would be no dis-cipline involved.

Tackle wasn’t a priorityfor the Dolphins, whohave two establishedstarters at the position.Tunsil could play guard,Gase said.

“We’ll figure out a wayto get him on the field,whether it is as a guardor tackle,” Gase said.

Even on that subject,Tunsil was anxious toavoid more controversyFriday.

“If the coach wants meto play quarterback, re-ceiver, tight end — hope-fully tight end — whatev-er position he puts me atis fine,” Tunsil said.

DOLPHINSFrom page B1

averaged 28.2 points and acareer-high 8.2 reboundsper game this season.Leonard is the two-timereigning defensive playerof the year who was afirst-time All-Star thisseason and led the Spursin scoring.

Leonard knows his jobwill be difficult because ofDurant’s versatility.

“Being able to do every-thing on the floor, shoot,get in the paint, post,create shots for his team-mates,” Leonard said ofDurant’s skills. “Justactive the whole game.”

Leonard has also be-come more of an offensivethreat. His scoring aver-age has increased from12.8 points per game in2013-14, to 16.5 last season,to 21.2 this season. Heshot a career-high 44.3percent from 3-pointrange on a career-high 291attempts this season.

Some things to watchin the Thunder-Spursseries:

ALDRIDGE EFFECTLaMarcus Aldridge has

gotten comfortable in SanAntonio after being ac-quired in the offseason.He averaged 18.0 pointsand 8.5 rebounds pergame this season whileallowing Tim Duncan to

rest a bit more. “You’vegot to play both ends ofthe floor a little differ-ently because he’s anAll-Star player,” Durantsaid. “He’s a guy that canshoot over any shoulder,he can shoot from range,he can roll to the rim, soit’s a different dynamicwhen you play a guy likethat, and that’s whenyou’ve got to be locked inand ready for anything.”

TEXAS-SIZEDTHREAT

Russell Westbrook had18 triple-doubles in theregular season, then aver-aged 26.0 points, 11.2 as-sists and 7.2 rebounds pergame in the first round ofthe playoffs against Dal-las. In 12 career playoffgames against the Spurshe averages 22.5 points,7.3 assists and 5.8 re-bounds per game. “He’sgot a lot of energy, he’ssuper aggressive andobviously one of the bestpoint guards in theleague,” Spurs guardTony Parker said. “It’sjust fun to play againsthim. He brings a lot ofexcitement to the game.It’s always a great match-up.”

THEY HAVE HISTO-RY

The Thunder beat theSpurs 4-2 in the WesternConference Finals in2011-12, then lost to Miamiin the NBA Finals. The

Spurs beat the Thunder4-2 in the 2013-14 WesternConference Finals, andSan Antonio beat Miamifor the NBA title. “We’vehad some battles,” Durantsaid. “And there were afew battles where theFinals was on the line.Each team really respectseach other and definitelywants to compete.”

COACHING MATCH-UP

Gregg Popovich is afive-time NBA championand the league’s mostsuccessful active coach.Oklahoma City’s BillyDonovan just won thefirst playoff series of hiscareer in his first year inthe league. Donovandoesn’t look at it as aone-on-one matchup, buthe said he learns everytime he studies Popov-ich’s teams. “You watchSan Antonio and Pop’steams play, there’s a lot ofrespect and admirationfor the way their teamplays,” Donovan said.

OFFENSE vs. DE-FENSE

Oklahoma City scored112.0 points per game on47.6 percent shootingagainst Dallas in the firstround and shot betterthan 50 percent in each ofthe final three games. SanAntonio held Memphis to81 points per game on 39.4percent shooting in afirst-round sweep.

SPURSFrom page B1

OAKLAND — JasonTerry had learnedenough from 114 careerplayoff games and hadseen enough in 17 NBAseasons to know that histeammates could use amotivational boostagainst the Golden StateWarriors. More thananything, he realized thathe and his teammateshad nothing to lose —nothing, that is, exceptanother game.

And so, with the Hous-ton Rockets’ dysfunction-al season teetering on acliff before Wednesday’sGame 5 in their first-round playoff seriesagainst the Warriors,Terry broke the emergen-cy glass and guaranteedthat the Rockets wouldwin to prolong the series,if only for a couple ofdays. They were justwords, of course, butTerry could only hopethat they resonated.

Instead, like so muchelse for the Rockets,whose season bore morethan a vague resemblanceto a late-night telenovela,Terry’s guarantee had asmuch life and lift as an

anvil. It was not going tomake a difference, notwith this collection ofmisfits and certainly notagainst a team as cohe-sive as the Warriors.

“I’m the super motiva-tor,” Terry said Wednes-day night. “That’s beenmy M.O. throughout mycareer. It just didn’t hithome with this group.”

The gulf between thesetwo teams was almostalarming. Just one seasonremoved from the West-ern Conference finals, theRockets floundered formonths. It was merelymore of the same againstthe Warriors, whose 114-81victory clinched a lopsid-ed series and, perhapsjust as important, endedtheir opponents’ suf-fering.

Afterward, in a quietvisiting locker room atOracle Arena, JamesHarden alluded to theRockets’ having had “toomany distractions.”Dwight Howard mum-bled something about“ups and downs.” Terry,on the other hand, cutstraight through the staticand pointed to the frayedpartnership betweenHarden and Howard,who had most likelyplayed his final game

with the Rockets.“They just couldn’t

coexist to have successthis year,” Terry said.“Chemistry was a bigissue for us all year long.We just didn’t have it.”

Chemistry can be anebulous, over-cited con-cept in pro sports, butTerry is a believer. Andhe could see the differ-ence between the Rocketsand the Warriors, espe-cially given how the War-riors had compensatedfor the absence of the bestplayer on the planet.Nothing changed. Theylooked like the same teamthat had won 73 gamesduring the regular sea-son.

“That team over thereis truly an example of

team,” Terry said. “Theyall play well together.Someone’s down? Some-one else steps up.”

The Warriors playedterrific basketball withoutStephen Curry in theseries’ final two games. Infact, after Curry sprainedhis right knee at the endof the first half of Sun-day’s Game 4, the War-riors went on to outscorethe Rockets by 60 pointsfor the remainder of theseries. On Wednesday,the Warriors led by 17points after the first quar-ter. It was never close.

This should all comewith a huge caveat, ofcourse: The Warriorswere playing the Rockets,whose mere presence inthe playoffs seemed to

defy both logic and goodtaste. And Golden Stateneeds Curry as it movesforward. Perhaps not somuch against the ove-rachieving Portland TrailBlazers or the injury-ravaged Los AngelesClippers, who are stillvying to advance out ofthe first round for theright to face the Warriorsin the conference semifi-nals. But the OklahomaCity Thunder and the SanAntonio Spurs loom onthe same side of thebracket.

“We do feel confidentthat we can win gameswithout him,” Warriorscoach Steve Kerr said ofCurry, “but we don’t real-ly want to have to. Sohopefully Steph will beback soon.”

Kerr added: “We justdon’t have the fireworksthat Steph provides. Sowe’ve got to make surewe’re more solid, whichwe have been the lastcouple games in partic-ular. But it’s good for ourguys’ confidence. I thinkwhat pleases me the mostis literally every singleguy on our roster contrib-uted during this series.”

One of those key con-tributors was ShaunLivingston, an unflap-

pable point guard whoscored 16 points in each ofhis three starts in Curry’sabsence — first whenCurry missed two gamesin the middle of the serieswith an ankle sprain, andlater when Curry hurt hisknee. Livingston is al-most serene on the court.Little affects him, and it isa luxury for the Warriorsto have someone who canso capably help fill thevoid. (The Warriors an-nounced Monday thatCurry would be re-evalu-ated in two weeks.)

“We are blessed,” Kerrsaid. “We are really lucky.You lose your pointguard, you lose the MVPand to be able to putShaun Livingston outthere? He’s a fantasticbasketball player.”

At about the sametime, not far from whereKerr was speaking, Terrywas circling back to thenotion that it helps whenteammates actually likeeach other, that thereneeds to be a “tightknitbond” for players toachieve something spe-cial. That was clearly thecase for the Warriors lastseason when they wonthe championship. And itappears to be happeningagain.

Rockets learn a lesson in chemistry By SCOTT CACCIOLANEW YORK TIME S NEWS

SERVICE

File photo by James Nielsen | Houston Chronicle

Jason Terry and the Rockets learned about theimportance of team chemistry after strugglingthroughout the 2016 season.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | B3

Dear Readers: If youread this column often,then you know I LOVEBOOKS! There is justsomething tactile aboutreading a paper book asopposed to reading on anelectronic device. Oh yes,reading a REAL book ina bubble bath is simplysoothing and enjoyable.An e-reader can be dam-aged by moisture andhumidity, so it's not theideal place to use one.HELOISE UPDATE: Acellphone can be dam-aged, too, by moistureand humidity in thebathroom. Don't set it onthe counter when youshower.

Reading books canopen up a world ofknowledge, expose youto different cultures andbe a friend whenever youneed a little quiet time.They never have a "lowbattery" message.

But how are you stor-ing the books? Here aresome hints:

Most books should bestored upright. Large

and heavy books, with"fat" spines, should beplaced flat; storing themon a shelf standing upcan pull on the spine andpages. This is especiallytrue with old or rarebooks.

For regular books,your home temperatureprobably is all right.DON'T store books longterm somewhere that istoo humid or too dry,such as a basement (toohumid), an attic (too dry)or a garage.

For big, costly (older)hardback books, don't"crack the spine" to openit to read -- this actioncauses major damage. Ifyou want to keep thebook, pass it on to some-one or "down" to family,open the book only towhere it won't openanymore. As a conserva-tor told me once, "Thebook will tell you howfar to open it," and I'vedone the same eversince.

-- A Book Lover andKeeper, Heloise

B4 | Saturday, April 30, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES