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VILLARREAL COACHES ALL-STARSLOCAL COACH LEADS BOSOM BUDDIES TEAM IN LAREDO, 1B

This Memorial Day holi-day will be anything but re-laxing for Jose Dodier Jr.— re-elected as the DistrictIII Texas State Soil and Wa-ter Conservation Boardmember on May 3 — as heanxiously awaits the re-sults of this legislative ses-sion’s conclusion.

Though plans for thenext session are not yetconclusive, Dodier is opti-mistic about the status offunding for the state pro-gram. At the start of thesession, the TSSWCB’sfunding took a worrisomenosedive from $4 million tonothing at all. However, Do-dier said the board has re-gained some funding, not-ing the recovery of two em-ployees’ positions.

“The original numberwas going to be … over $50million over 10 years,” Do-

dier explained. “Went from(the current) $4 million tozero, and now we’re hopingto get at least half of thatback, if not more.

“We’re elated that we gotfunding restored.”

One of the projects thatlikely secured the board’scontinued existence beganin McCullough County incentral Texas and spreadacross the state. That coun-ty’s dam, which was over50 years old, was in a direstate of disrepair and inthe hands of county resi-dents for care.

The board decided totake on the project, which,had it failed, could have re-sulted in nearby homes be-ing washed away if a stormcame. The project wasturned into a legislativeact, garnering it state fund-ing.

“There are almost 2,000

LEGISLATION

Board facesfunding cuts

from stateBy ERICA MATOS

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See BOARD PAGE 10A

AUSTIN — Texas Gov.Rick Perry, the longest serv-ing chief executive in thestate’s history and a politic-ian who has never lost anelection, said Friday he willconsider seeking the Repub-lican nomination for presi-dent.

The outspoken conserva-tive, who for months said hewasn’t interested in run-ning for the White House,said he will consider enter-ing the race after the TexasLegislature adjourns Mon-day.

“I’m going to think aboutit,” Perry said. “I thinkabout a lot of things.”

It was a stark reversalfrom his previous insistencethat he would not seek thepresidency, and one thatcould shake-up the GOPrace. Perry would enterwith unquestioned conser-vative bona fides and a pro-ven fundraising record, add-ing a fresh voice to a fieldnarrowed by the decisions

of Mississippi Gov. HaleyBarbour and Indiana Gov.Mitch Daniels not to run.

Perry has been the centerof a presidential buzz dur-ing the past week, kicked upas many Republicans la-mented the remaining slateof candidates vying for theopportunity to challengePresident Barack Obama.The talk increased lastweek after his speech to Re-publican insiders in Dallaswon rave reviews. Conserva-tive radio host Rush Lim-baugh spent 20 minutes onhis talk show a few days lat-er espousing Perry’s appealas a candidate.

When asked about therace before Friday, Perryhad said repeatedly he wasfocused on the state’s legis-lative session and not the2012 race. He reiterated Fri-day that his focus is on Tex-as, but answered with aswift “yes sir” when askedif he would consider run-ning for president once the

2012 ELECTION

Perry may runfor president

He has never lostan election

By APRIL CASTROASSOCIATED PRESS

RICK PERRY: Willconsider seekingthe presidentialnomination.

See PERRY PAGE 10A

The Procuraduría General de laRepública, Mexico’s Attorney Gen-eral, is investigating cartel relatedactivity in northern towns of Mex-ico where federal authorities

seized about two tons of marijuanaand weapons.

PGR announced Friday it hasopened a case in the seizure of alittle more than one ton of marijua-na in Miguel Alemán, across theborder from Roma. Mexico’s army,Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional

or SEDENA, was patrolling the vi-cinity of Los Guerra in Miguel Ale-mán.

Soldiers spotted tire tracks head-ing toward the riverbanks. There,they found an abandoned Ford ve-

MEXICO

Cartel activityAuthorities seize tons of pot, kill gunmen

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES

See CARTEL PAGE 10A

ABOVE: Several Zapata High School studentsfrom the Class of 2011 react during the 2011commencement exercises at Hawk Stadium onFriday afternoon. BELOW: Salutatorian Javer Ed-mundo Zapata Jr. reacts during his speech atthe graduation ceremony.

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

2011GRADSALLSMILES

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

SATURDAY, APRIL 16El Centro de Laredo Farmer’s

Market is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. todayat Jarvis Plaza, in downtown Laredo.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30The March of Dimes’ 2011 March

for Babies is today from 8 a.m. tonoon at Texas A&M International Uni-versity. To register your family or com-pany team, visit http://www.marchfor-babies.org/. For more information, con-tact Luis Garcia, division director, at1-800-580-3256 or LGarcia@marchof-dimes.com.

The first Zapata County ScoutingCompetition pitting the Zapata GirlScouts vs. the Zapata Explorers, willrun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Za-pata County Pavilion. For more infor-mation, call the Zapata Chamber ofCommerce at (956) 765-4871.

THURSDAY, MAY 5Zapata High School is having its

annual Scholarship Night ceremony at6 p.m. today at the high school audito-rium. To sponsor a scholarship or formore information, call 765-0280.

SATURDAY, MAY 7A book sale will be held in the

Widener Room of the First UnitedMethodist Church, 1220 McClellandAve., from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donatedbooks and magazines are accepted.Call 722-1674 for more information.

Texas author Joe Lopez, authorof “The Last Knight,” will be in Laredofrom 2-4 p.m. at the Laredo Public Li-brary, 1120 East Calton Rd. He will dis-cuss his book about Don Bernardo Gu-tierrez de Lara Uribe, a Texas hero whofought for the rights and freedoms ofthe people of Texas long before theWar for Texas Independence waswaged in 1836. Copies of “The LastKnight” will be available for purchase,and Lopez will autograph copies forbuyers. For more information, contactRobert Brown at the Laredo Public Li-brary at 795-2400, 2234.

MONDAY, MAY 9The County Commissioners

Court will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. atthe Zapata County Courthouse.

TUESDAY, MAY 10The South Texas Food Bank will

have a fundraiser at Hal’s Landing,6540 Arena Road, from 6 p.m. to 11p.m. today. Music will be by Ross &Friends. Admission is $10. Raffle tick-ets are $5 and available by calling568-3673 or 324-2432.

The Zapata County ISD Board ofTrustees will meet at the ProfessionalDevelopment Center at 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 12The City of Laredo, the Laredo

Public Library Wall of Tolerance Center& Museum and Congregation AgudasAchim will host the Holocaust Remem-brance Day Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. atthe Laredo Public Library. This year’sDays of Remembrance theme is “Jus-tice and Accountability in the Face ofGenocide: What Have We Learned?”For more information, contact PamBurrell at the Laredo Public Library at795-2400, extension 2268.

THURSDAY, MAY 19The Laredo Chamber of Com-

merce will be hosting a ribbon-cuttingceremony for Melton Logistics at 8618Las Cruces at 5:30 p.m. For more in-formation, contact Gina Palma at 722-9895.

SATURDAY, MAY 28The Zapata County Chamber of

Commerce invites the community tosupport local 1st through 5th gradeartists who, for the past month, havebeen participating in a drawing contestfor this summer’s Zapata CountyChamber of Commerce Kids’ FishingTournament. Those interested in parti-cipating in drawing selection can callthe Chamber at (956) 765-4871 or canstop by at 601 US Hwy 83.

To celebrate the 256th anniver-sary of Laredo’s founding, the WebbCounty Heritage Foundation will host aFounders’ Day luncheon at noon in theStudent Center Ballroom of Texas A&MInternational University. The event willfeature the inauguration of the newPresident of the Republic of the RioGrande, Mrs. Annabelle U. Hall, as wellas presentation of the annual HeritageAwards. The event is open to the pub-lic. Tickets for the luncheon can be ob-tained by calling the foundation officeat (956) 727-0977 or by email at heri-tage@webbheritage.org.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, May 28,the 148th day of 2011. Thereare 217 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On May 28, 1961, the humanrights group Amnesty Interna-tional had its beginnings inthe form of an article by law-yer Peter Benenson that waspublished in the British news-paper The Observer. Titled“The Forgotten Prisoners,” theessay called for mobilizingpublic opinion to defend “pris-oners of conscience” world-wide.

On this date: In 1533, the Archbishop of

Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer,declared the marriage of Eng-land’s King Henry VIII toAnne Boleyn valid.

In 1863, the 54th Massachu-setts Volunteer Infantry, madeup of freed blacks, left Bostonto fight for the Union in theCivil War.

In 1892, the Sierra Club wasorganized in San Francisco.

In 1918, the Battle of Cantig-ny (kahn-tee-NYEE’) beganduring World War I as Amer-ican troops captured theFrench town from the Ger-mans.

In 1934, the Dionne quintup-lets — Annette, Cecile, Emilie,Marie and Yvonne — wereborn to Elzire Dionne at thefamily farm in Ontario, Cana-da.

In 1937, Neville Chamber-lain became prime minister ofBritain.

In 1940, during World WarII, the Belgian army surren-dered to invading Germanforces.

In 1959, the U.S. Armylaunched Able, a rhesus mon-key, and Baker, a squirrel mon-key, aboard a Jupiter missilefor a suborbital flight whichboth primates survived.

In 1972, Prince Edward, theDuke of Windsor, who had ab-dicated the English throne tomarry Wallis Warfield Simp-son, died in Paris at age 77.

In 1985, David Jacobsen, di-rector of the American Univer-sity Hospital in Beirut, Leba-non, was abducted by pro-Ira-nian kidnappers (he was freed17 months later).

Ten years ago: PresidentGeorge W. Bush honoredAmerica’s veterans with theMemorial Day signing of legis-lation to construct a WorldWar II monument on the Na-tional Mall. U.S. Rep. JosephMoakley, D-Mass., died at age74.

Today’s Birthdays: Rocka-billy singer-musician SonnyBurgess is 82. Actress CarrollBaker is 80. Producer-directorIrwin Winkler is 80. ActressBeth Howland is 70. FormerNew York City Mayor RudolphGiuliani is 67. Singer GladysKnight is 67. Actress-directorSondra Locke is 67. Singer Bil-ly Vera is 67. Singer John Fo-gerty is 66. Actress ChristaMiller is 47. Singer-musicianChris Ballew (Presidents of theUSA) is 46. Rapper ChubbRock is 43. Singer Kylie Mi-nogue (KY’-lee mihn-OHG’) is43. Actor Justin Kirk is 42. Tel-evision personality ElisabethHasselbeck (“The View”) is 34.Actor Jesse Bradford is 32. Ac-tress Monica Keena is 32. Popsinger Colbie Caillat (kal-LAY’)is 26. Actress Carey Mulliganis 26. Actor Joseph Cross is 25.

Thought for Today: “Allthe troubles of man come fromhis not knowing how to sitstill.” — Blaise Pascal, Frenchphilosopher (1623-1662).

TODAY IN HISTORY

EL PASO — The student body leader froma South Texas university who graduates inDecember has succeeded in stalling his de-portation to Mexico, but his lawyer said Fri-day that the young man’s future beyond fin-ishing college remains uncertain.

Standing before an immigration judgeWednesday, Arturo Guerra, 21, knew that anunfavorable ruling could mean the end of hislife in the U.S. The judge agreed to reviewthe case, putting it on hold indefinitely. An-other court hearing has not been scheduled.

Guerra’s attorney Jaime Diez said Guerrawill get to graduate in December and hope-fully have enough time to complete his mas-ter’s degree, too.

The University of Texas at Brownsville se-nior is also president of the student govern-

ment association. He faces deportation forentering the U.S. illegally when he was 15.His status was discovered in December whenhe tried to become a legal resident throughhis mother’s marriage to a U.S. citizen.

“It feels terrible, you go there and youdon’t know what is going to happen,” Guerrasaid Friday in a phone interview with TheAssociated Press. “What hurt me the mostwas thinking that I have my mom, my sis-ters, my stepdad, my grandma and myschool here. My life is here.”

Diez said he and Guerra “hope for theDREAM Act to pass.”

The Development, Relief and Education forAlien Minors would create a way for stu-dents who came to the U.S. illegally beforethey were 16 to obtain citizenship. Theywould have to have completed two years ofhigher education or service in the military.

AROUND TEXAS

University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College senior and student government president Jose Arturo Guer-ra poses for a photo Wednesday in Brownsville. Guerra is graduating, but could be deported to Mexico for entering the U.S.illegally when he was a teenager.

Photo by Paul Chouy/The Brownsville Herald | AP

Deportation possibleBy JUAN CARLOS LLORCA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Texas sexting bill sent togovernor

AUSTIN — Texas teenagers 17or younger could be chargedwith a misdemeanor instead of afelony if they are caught “sext-ing” under a bill sent to Gov.Rick Perry on Friday.

If Perry signs the change intolaw, teens caught sexting wouldface a Class C misdemeanor pun-ishable by a $500 fine. The billdoes not change felony laws cov-ering adults.

Jury sentences Woodwayman to 25 years

AUSTIN — A LimestoneCounty jury has sentenced aWoodway man to 25 years instate prison after convicting himof stealing more than $400,000from clients of his investment ad-visory business.

Reginald Lee Clark was con-victed this week of theft. The ju-ry sentenced him Friday.

Clark was not registered tosell securities in Texas.

Semifinals begin inCliburn piano contest

FORT WORTH — After Mada-lyn Bingham Taylor’s youngestson was killed in a freak acci-dent at her family’s Utah tirestore 12 years ago, she couldbarely play her beloved piano.

But she wanted to show herfamily that “you have to keep thelight in your life.”

Taylor is among 25 semifinal-ists in the Van Cliburn Sixth In-ternational Piano Competitionfor Amateurs.

Legislature passeschanges to screeningsAUSTIN — The Legislature

has passed a bill requiring thestate to obtain parental permis-sion before storing a newborn’sblood sample for possible re-search.

The House on Thursday ap-proved changing how parentsgive the Department of StateHealth services permission touse a baby’s blood sample.

Texas inmate to die nextweek loses appeal

HOUSTON — A convicted kill-er has lost an appeal to the U.S.Supreme Court to put off his exe-cution set for next week inHuntsville for a slaying in Dallasmore than two decades ago.

Lawyers for 42-year-old Gay-land Bradford asked the highcourt for a reprieve and a re-hearing on an appeal turneddown earlier by the justices. Thecourt, in a one-paragraph orderFriday, refused both requests.

VA backs off, will letpastor say ’Jesus Christ’

HOUSTON — The U.S. Veter-ans Affairs Department will al-low a pastor to utter the nameJesus Christ in a Memorial Dayinvocation at Houston NationalCemetery after he sued the agen-cy, accusing it of censorship.

The agency’s attorney in-formed U.S. District Judge LynnHughes of the decision Friday.

— Compiled from AP reports

Flooding prompts Vt.evacuations, closures

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A seriesof thunderstorms pelted Ver-mont with up to 5 inches of rainThursday and Friday, overflow-ing rivers and streams, rippingroads into pebbly shreds andforcing about 200 people fromtheir homes.

More trouble was on the way:A second round of heavy weath-er Friday night was expected tomove through the same areasbuffeted by the Thursday nightstorms, which lashed an areaMontpelier to St. Johnsbury andleft roads impassable.

Grocery chain expands$1-a-gallon gas discount

CINCINNATI — The KrogerCo. is pumping up its fuel dis-count program, more than tripli-ng the number of grocery storeswhere regular shoppers can getup to a $1-a-gallon discount on a

tankful of gas.

Feds pondering felony inWis. abortion plot

MADISON, Wis. — Prosecu-tors said Friday they may pursue

a felony charge against a manaccused of plotting to shoot Ma-dison abortion providers.

Ralph Lang told investigatorshe brought a gun to Madison tokill staffers at Planned Parent-hood. But his plan fell through.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Rene Crete looks over damaged cars at Buy Right Auto on Friday in East Mont-pelier, Vt. Schools and roads are closed across central Vermont as heavy over-night rains caused flooding that overflowed riverbanks.

Photo by Toby Talbot | AP

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The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the LaredoMorning Times and for those who buy the Laredo MorningTimes at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

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

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

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SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 Zlocal PAGE 3A

Zapata residents canfind their futures withLaredo Community Col-lege this summer rightin their hometown.

To celebrate thelaunch of the ZapataCounty Advanced Educa-tion Center, LCC will of-fer for the first time aSummer Bridge Programfor adults looking to en-roll in coursework toprepare them for college-level English, readingand or math.

To determine if thestudent is ready to takethe any of the summerbridge courses, stafffrom the LCC Assess-ment Center will be atZapata High School onTuesday to offer the ACTCOMPASS Placement Ex-amination (TCOMP). In-dividuals can take theexam anytime from 8:30a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prior to taking theTCOMP, the studentmust have a completedadmissions applicationon file in the Enrollmentand Registration Officeand a Palomino ID num-

ber to take the exam.There is a testing fee

of $18, which can be paidwith a check or a moneyorder.

The summer bridgecourses, including ENGL0373, READ 0375 andMath 0376, will be taughtat the ZCAEC from Mon-day, June 6, throughWednesday, July 6.

All classes will meetMonday through Thurs-day, with English sched-uled from 5-7:20 p.m.,reading from 7:30-9:50p.m. and math from 5-7:20 p.m.

The courses will betaught by qualified in-structors from Zapata.

The ZCAEC is locatedat 607 U.S. 83 South.

For more informationor assistance, contact theoffice of the dean of LCCSouth at 794-4002.

(Steve Treviño is thepublic relations specialistat LCC.)

LCC offersclasses at

Zapata centerBy STEVE TREVIÑO

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

An agenda item thatwould move redistrictingin Zapata forward was post-poned at a special calledCommissioners Courtmeeting Tuesday.

Residents within Zapa-ta’s precincts will be redis-tributed to comply with the2010 county census data.Studies showed that 250residents each will need tobe moved into precincts 1and 2 from precinct 4.

The redistricting is ex-pected to include the ex-pansion of precinct 1 tocover everything in be-tween Hidalgo Boulevardand Glenn Street. Thechange will be effective thisOctober.

Rolando Rios, represen-tative of Rogelio Rios andAssociates, the redistrict-ing consultant for Zapata,was unable to attend themeeting because he washeld up in federal court.

Pct. 1 CommissionerJose Vela said the visionfor redistricting in Zapatawas not finalized duringthe meeting because the de-cision needed to be ap-

proached with the appro-priate protocol.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Ga-briel Villarreal added thateach precinct will be re-ceiving 250 residents fromPct. 4 for an equal numberof 3,500 residents. He saidthe boundary changes didnot receive any objectionsby Pct. 4 CommissionerNorberto Garza.

Garza and County JudgeJoseph Rathmell could notbe reached for commentTuesday afternoon.

Further discussion atthe meeting included theapproval of county watermeter connection for a 2 ½acre tract of land owned by

Valerie Ann Gonzalez. “We approved to provide

the utilities they requestedonly as far as where thecounty boundary goes,” Ve-la said. “We’ll be supplyingthe meter; however, the res-idents will have to do theirown trenching because it isout of our jurisdiction.”

Other topics finalized atthe meeting were the ap-pointment of County JudgeJoseph Rathmell to the Za-pata County Commission-ers Rio Grande RegionalWater Planning Group andthe approval of the use ofZapata County Pavilion tobe the starting point for theLaredo/Zapata fun race.

Court tables redistrictingSome boundaries

to changeBy CRISTINA FLORES

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata County Re-tired School Employeesmet in April at the Holi-day Restaurant. Hildegar-do Flores and Olga Florespresented the program forthe meeting. The presenta-tion was about their pil-grimage to the Holy Land.

The spectacular build-ings of Greece and the Ho-ly Land were filmed byHildegardo Flores at thetime he and Olga Floreswere on a pilgrimage inOctober 2010. The Floresesjoined a pilgrimage orga-nized by the Archdioceseof Houston, led by Monsig-nor Rossi. The focus of thepilgrimage was to followthe steps of St. Paul and tovisit the home of Mary, theMother of Jesus.

Following the steps ofSt. Paul, the group trav-eled to Corinth and Ath-ens, Greece; Ephesus inTurkey; and Jericho, theSea of Galilee, Bethlehemand Jerusalem in the HolyLand. In Nazareth, the

group visited the home ofMary.

The Floreses spoke withadmiration for architec-ture at many sites; one ex-

ample was the Parthenonin Greece. A special atmo-sphere prevailed at theChurch of the Holy Se-pulcher where they saw

the Unction stone and thetomb of Jesus. (EdnaUmphres is the historianfor the Retired School Em-ployees Association.)

Association discusses pilgrimageBy EDNA UMPHRES

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Retired School Employees Association raffle winner Carmen Gonzalez, left, holds a beaded bag broughtfrom Jerusalem. Olga Flores, center, donated the bag from the Holy Land for a raffle to benefit the as-sociation’s book project. Cruz Torres, right, directs the project, which benefits the students of ZCISD.

Courtesy photo

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

Sometime this sum-mer, the Democratsand the Republi-

cans will go toe-to-toeover whether to raise thedebt ceiling. At theheight of the confronta-tion, President BarackObama may well addressthe country and say thateven though he has of-fered the Republicansmore than $1 trillion inspending cuts (unspeci-fied), the Republicanshave not been willing tocompromise on a deal.He will then announcethat even without anagreement the U.S. willstill have enough moneyto continue payments toits creditors.

Unfortunately, he willgo on, the governmentwill not have enoughmoney to continue withmany other programs.Federal agencies willsend out letters advisingparents that because ofthe deadlock in Con-gress, student loans willbe suspended. Other let-ters will advise seniorsto make arrangementswith banks for creditlines until their SocialSecurity checks can re-sume. National panicwill ensue.

Changing timesA few weeks ago, the

Republicans might havebeen able to withstandthis. Then it was possi-ble to argue that Ameri-cans are so fed up withrunaway spending andunsustainable debt thatthey would support aparty brave enough toput the country on asound fiscal footing. Af-ter the Republican defeatin New York’s 26th Con-gressional District, it isharder to argue that. Af-ter these results, 2012looks more like a regularelection — whicheverparty can be accused ofcutting entitlements willget pummeled.

Already many consult-ants are telling Republi-cans to drop austerityand go back on offense:Spend 2012 accusing theDemocrats of sponsoringdeath panels. The Demo-crats will spend 2012 ac-cusing Republicans ofending Medicare. Which-ever party demagoguesbest wins.

But, over the past fewdays, I’ve spoken with anumber of Republicans— in Congress and else-where — who don’t wantto do that. They fervent-ly believe the country isin peril. They want tofind a way to reduce thedebt without committingpolitical suicide.

A processDoing that is a two-

step process. First, Re-publicans have to make agrand offer on raisingthe debt ceiling. This of-fer should include a bi-partisan commitment toreduce the growth ofMedicare spending. Re-publicans need Demo-cratic fingerprints on aplan to restrain entitle-ments. In exchange, Re-publicans should offer toraise tax revenues on therich.

They should get rid ofthe interest deductionson mortgages over$500,000 and on secondhomes. They shouldclose corporate loopholesand cap the health insur-ance deduction. They

should offer a plan thatfollows the outline of theSimpson-Bowles reportand what the “Gang ofFive” in the Senate isworking on. (Sen. MarkKirk has a proposalroughly on this latterpoint.)

DisagreementDemocrats may not

agree to this offer. Sincethe election, Democratshave gone into the fiscalfetal position, hoping tooffend no one while Re-publicans catch all theflak. This week, SenateDemocrats voted on fourseparate budget propos-als and not a single Dem-ocrat voted for a singleone. Even Obama’s bud-get received zero votes.The Democrats don’twant to be on record forany governing choicethat might be painful.

Moreover, Obama mayuse this occasion to pum-mel the Republicansmercilessly on Medicare,no matter what the con-sequences for the coun-try.

But if the Republicansmade an offer that in-cluded revenue increas-es, they would at leastshow they are willing tocompromise to prevent anational catastrophe.And Democrats mighttake them up on it. ManyDemocrats understandthe fiscal peril. ManyDemocrats don’t want togo down in history as thepeople who did nothingwhile bankruptcyloomed.

ReconnectionMore broadly, Republi-

cans need to reconnectwith the working class,the sort of people wholive in upstate New Yorkcongressional districts.Republicans won in 2010because the workingclass fled from the Demo-crats’ top-down big gov-ernment liberalism.

But these familieshave seen the pillars oftheir world dissolve —jobs, family structure,neighborhood cohesion.They understandably re-ject any new proposalsthat introduce even morerisk and uncertainty intotheir lives. Republicansneed to be the party oforder, stability and stea-dy growth.

They need to lay outthe facts showing thatMedicare is unstable andon a path to collapse, asRep. Paul Ryan is doing.But they also need to en-mesh Medicare reformwithin an agenda tobuild solid communities:more money for commu-nity colleges and techni-cal schools, an infras-tructure bank, a valuesagenda to shore up mar-riage and family cohe-sion, tax holidays to helpthe unemployed startbusinesses, tax reform tolimit special interestpower.

The Boston ConsultingGroup foresees a manu-facturing renaissance asChinese wages rise andworkers in low-coststates like Mississippifind they can competeonce again. If Republi-cans can help foster that,and if they can cut a bi-partisan deal that illus-trates that we are all inthis together, they can dogood for the countrywhile doing well politi-cally. If not, it’s the sameold story: whoever isbravest on entitlementswill lose.

COLUMN

Discussionon US debtinevitable

By DAVID BROOKSNEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Times doesnot publish anonymousletters.

To be published, lettersmust include the writer’sfirst and last names aswell as a phone numberto verify identity. The

phone number IS NOTpublished; it is used sole-ly to verify identity andto clarify content, if nec-essary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

We want to assure our

readers that a letter iswritten by the person whosigns the letter. The Zapa-ta Times does not allowthe use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-call-

ing or gratuitous abuse isallowed.

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

AUSTIN — Frank De-nius, the Austin law-yer, has taken on a

new client: the outfit inwhich he served when hewas Franklin Denius, thesoldier.

Like many of his WorldWar II contemporaries, De-nius was still in his teenswhen he went away. As amember of the 30th Infan-try Division, Denius wasonly 19 when he saw actionon D-Day. He also fought inthe hedgerows, in the Bat-tle of the Bulge and battledinto Germany.

Among the decorationsDenius earned were fourSilver Stars and two PurpleHearts.

He was a forward artil-lery observer — a mostdangerous assignment. It’sa wonder Denius survivedalmost constant combatfrom the time he landed inFrance until he camehome.

For years, Denius wasreticent to talk about hiswar experiences. He’sspeaking up more thesedays, not in search of per-sonal recognition but as anadvocate for his buddies inthe 30th Infantry Division.

The 30th was a NationalGuard unit that foughtwith distinction in bothworld wars. In 1946, S.L.A.Marshall, the officer ap-pointed to write a historyof the Army in the Euro-pean theater, wrote: “ ... wepicked the 30th DivisionNo. 1 in the list of (infan-

try) divisions. In no singleoperation had (the division)carried less than its shareof the burden or looked badwhen compared with theforces on its flanks. We areespecially impressed withthe fact that it had consis-tently achieved resultswithout undue wastage ofits men.”

The understated prosecarries a message in mili-tary dialect: This outfit didits job efficiently and keptits losses to a minimum.Though Marshall recom-mended the division for aPresidential Unit Citation,it never got one.

Lew Adams, a documen-tary film producer and di-rector who lives in Austin,sees that as an injustice tobe corrected. When Adamsresearched the history ofthe 30th and interviewed itssurvivors, the respect hehad for the men of the out-fit became awe.

Adams talks about tak-ing the route the divisionfollowed during World WarII and how people in thetowns they liberated stillremember the heroes ofOld Hickory — the divi-sion’s nickname. As part ofthe work on the documen-tary, Adams took some ofthe surviving 30th Infantryveterans, including Denius,back to Europe.

“These men are rockstars,” Adams said in de-scribing the reverence thedivision still commands sixdecades after the end of thewar.

Yet for all of its accom-plishments and sacrifice,

the division has been de-nied the recognition of thePresidential Unit Citation.Individual units were cited,but not the division as awhole. Adams suspects thatthe reason is that it was aNational Guard outfit and,as such, an underdog in anintraservice scramble forpostwar glory. Regular Ar-my officers then — andmaybe even now — weregenerally dismissive of re-serve outfits.

Yet when Gen. DwightEisenhower, the allied com-mander, needed a battalionto hold a strategic hill nearMortain, France, at allcosts, it was the 30th Infan-try that delivered. Deniuswas the artillery observeron Hill 314, critical highground that Germans ap-plied maximum effort totake. The German com-mander hurled four divi-sions — two of them EliteSS units — at Denius’ bat-talion. Low on ammuni-tion, food, water and medi-cal supplies, Denius andhis buddies valiantly —and literally — held theirground for six days, repell-ing the German onslaughtaimed at halting the Alliedadvance from the Norman-dy beaches.

There were many morebattles to fight after Mor-tain, including the Battle ofthe Bulge.

The most famous Ger-man counteroffensive be-gan on Dec. 16. By Dec. 18,the 30th Infantry Divisionmoved from the Aachen ar-ea in Germany — groundwrested from the Wehr-

macht defenders at heavycost. It was a trek of 24miles over icy, treacherousterrain to Malmedy, Belgi-um. Denius was awarded aPurple Heart for woundssustained at the Battle ofthe Bulge.

Denius, an East Texan,rotated home after the war,enrolled in the Universityof Texas law school andstayed in Austin. Knownfor his philanthropy, Deni-us is also pro bono counselfor the 30th, arguing thecase for the long-denied rec-ognition of his old outfit.

Denius, now 86, saidthere are only about 1,70030th Infantry survivors left.

“I was one of the young-est guys in the unit,” hesaid, noting that time isnow the enemy. The De-fense Department wants af-fidavits to support the pet-ition for a citation. Deniusdutifully files the paper-work as he and his fellow30th Infantry survivorswait. There is also a waitfor funding to finishAdams’ documentary.

Denius’ client is in theright. What isn’t right isperpetuating more than sixdecades of overdue recogni-tion. As Adams correctlynoted, the men of the 30thDivision have waited longenough.

To see interviews withDenius and other veteransof the 30th Infantry includ-ed in the unfinished docu-mentary “Heroes of OldHickory,” go to heroesofold-hickory.com.

E-mail: agarcia@states-man.com.

COLUMN

Heroes’ recognition overdueBy ARNOLD GARCIA JR.

COX NEWSPAPERS

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 Crime & More THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

ASSAULTDeputies responded to an

unwanted person call at 6:01a.m. Wednesday in the 2300block of Alamo Street. The com-plainant stated that her ex-boy-friend assaulted her.

BURGLARYA man reported at 8:21

p.m. May 21 in Socorro Ranch,off Airport Road, that someonestole three rifles from his resi-dence.

A man called deputies at7:55 a.m. Wednesday from theCosta Rica Ranch, off Texas 16,to report that someone brokeinto his ranch, stole his Jeepand abandoned it at the en-trance of the ranch.

A man reported at 12:16p.m. Wednesday in the 1400block of Ramireño Avenue thatsomeone he knows burglarizedhis home.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEFDeputies went out to a

criminal mischief call at 6:33p.m. May 20 in the 1300 blockof Guerrero Avenue. The com-plainant told officials that some-one cut off the wire of a videosurveillance camera.

Deputies responded to acriminal mischief call at 2:49p.m. May 20 in the 800 block

of Villa Avenue, where a mantold deputies that someonepoured sugar in his gas tank.

DUIGary Alaniz was arrested

after a traffic stop and chargedwith driving under the influenceat about 1 a.m. Wednesday inthe 400 block of Bravo Avenue.The man was taken to ZapataRegional Jail.

HIT AND RUNA hit-and-run incident was

reported at 6:31 p.m. May 20 inthe 800 block of Vista Hermosa.

POSSESSIONMartin Emilio Pacheco was

arrested and charged with pos-session of cocaine at about 1:30p.m. May 20 in the intersectionof West 20th Avenue and U.S.83. The man was taken to Zapa-ta Regional Jail.

THEFTA woman reported at 9:12

p.m. Thursday in the 600 blockof Laredo Avenue that someonestole his trash can.

A woman reported at11:50 a.m. Thursday in the 1400block of Miraflores Street thatsomeone stole several pieces ofjewelry.

THE BLOTTER

A head-on collisionWednesday morning inSan Ygnacio left an 82-year-old man hospitalizedwith non-life threateninginjuries, first responderssaid.

Zapata County Sher-iff ’s Office deputies re-sponded to a call at ap-proximately 8:30 a.m. atU.S. 83, a quarter-milenorth of Valle Verde Roadin San Ygnacio.

Deputies found ma-roon and tan Chevrolettrucks had collided witheach other.

Roosevelt Gonzalez, 20,was the driver of the maroonvehicle. A sheriff ’s officenews release states the manwas traveling south towardZapata and could not stay ina single lane, thus collidingwith the tan vehicle drivenby an 82-year-old man.

The elderly man was

treated for non life-threat-ening injuries at the scene.Zapata Fire EMS crewstook him to Laredo Medi-cal Center.

Gonzalez was cited forfailure to maintain a singlelane and taken to the Zapa-ta Medical Center for mi-nor treatment.

A Zapata County firefighter assists at the scene where two trucks collided on U.S. 83 in San Ygnacio.

Courtesy photo | Zapata County Sheriff’s Office

U.S. 83 collision sendsman, 82, to hospital

THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Zapata resident wasarrested Wednesday after-noon accused of stealingcameras and a laptop fromhis place of employment.In addition, deputiesfound him in possessionof a green, leafy substancebelieved to be marijuana.

Carlos A. Figueredowas arrested and chargedwith two counts of theftand one count for posses-sion of marijuana. He wastaken to Zapata RegionalJail.

A Zapata County Sher-iff ’s Office incident reportstates Figueredo had al-legedly already pawnedtwo cameras, a Kodak anda Cannon, at a pawn shopon U.S. 83. The reportstates Figueredo, a report-er with the Zapata CountyNews, was allegedly at-tempting to pawn a thirdcamera, a Sony.

An employee from thepawn shop called the Za-pata County News to con-firm that the cameraswere given to Figueredo.Deputies say the man tookthe cameras without per-mission.

Deputies responded toan incident call at thepawn shop at 5:07 p.m.Deputies took Figueredoin for questioning at thesheriff ’s office.

Deputies arrested Fi-gueredo at the sheriff ’s of-fice. While he was beingprocessed, the office re-ceived a call from a ZapataCounty News employee.The caller stated that alaptop was missing.

Later on, deputies tookFigueredo to Zapata Re-gional Jail. A routine patdown on the man by cor-rectional officers yielded abaggie with a green, leafysubstance believed to bemarijuana.

Authorities recoveredthe cameras. The laptophad not been recovered asof press time.

Zapatanfaces theft,possession

chargesBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

It’s time for Tiesto.The world’s biggest DJ/

producer will bring the“Club Life” to the LaredoEnergy Arena stage Sun-day night.

He has been all over theworld, and Sunday willmark his first visit to theGateway City. His stop herewill be on Memorial Dayweekend, after a couple ofshows in the entertainmentmecca of Las Vegas.

He’ll follow up with acouple of shows in Italy(Napoli and Rome), Croatiaand Denmark before start-ing his summer residencyin Ibiza, Spain. He’s used toplaying to hundreds ofthousands of fans and con-stantly tours the globe.

“I can’t believe Tiesto iscoming. This is so big; hewas the main reason why Istarted to DJ,” said JairNuñez, a local club DJ. “It’seven more exciting that Iam going to be a part of thelineup here in Laredo.”

Nuñez, who goes by thename DJ Jair, will be per-forming in the main lobbyof the LEA.

Concert promoters Glob-al Groove London and In-somniac have set up threestages at the arena to giveit a club-like atmosphere.Three areas will be pump-ing out music — the mainstage, main lobby and StarBar for VIPs. The concertwill last until 2 a.m., a firstfor the arena.

“It’s a dream come truefor me,” Nuñez said. “Thisis something everyoneneeds to experience intheir life, especially sinceit’s going to be filmed forthe rest of the world tosee.”

The concert, which is ex-pected to attract thousands

of people from throughoutSouth Texas and northernMexico, has been approvedby Tiesto’s people for livefilming. The video willthen be distributed world-wide, via Tiesto’s manyweb pages.

Nuñez is one of severallocal and area DJs who willget an opportunity to per-form at the arena. The cityis abuzz about this concert.

Among the many hitsTiesto, who has remixedfor many mainstream art-ists such as Madonna, hasto his credit are “Feel It InMy Bones,” “Escape Me,”“I Will Be Here,” “Hello,”“In The Dark,” “Show Methe Way” and “C’Mon,”which he produced along-side Diplo.

Tiesto is known as atrance DJ, but his musictranscends all electronicmusic genres. He’s collabo-rated with Nelly Furtado,Three 6 Mafia and has a“C’Mon” remix with BustaRhymes.

If you go back a decadeor so, you’ll find his trackssuch as “Traffic,” “AdagioFor Strings” and “LoveComes Again.”

“Adagio For Strings” isactually a remix of SamuelBarber’s orchestra classic.

“That’s my favorite Ties-to song of all time,” Nuñezsaid. “I get goosebumps ev-erytime the beat drops andthe melody kicks in.”

Due to the high demandthat’s likely, the Laredo En-ergy Arena Box office will

open Saturday from noonto 6 p.m. and will be openextended hours on Sunday,the day of the event, from10 a.m. to midnight.

Tiesto is expected to goon stage at about 10 p.m.

(Emilio Rabago II may bereached at 728-2564 or eraba-go@lmtonline.com)

World’s most famous DJ,Tiesto, plays at arena Sunday

By EMILIO RÁBAGO IIITHE ZAPATA TIMES

DJ Tiesto, the world’s biggest name in electronic music, plays at theLaredo Energy Arena on Sunday. Tickets start at $30.

Express-News file photo

THE LINEUPMAIN STAGE

(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)Tiesto, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.Kevin Focus, 9 p.m. to 10p.m.Tanki Pink vs. LaidbackLou, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.Gruvman Funk and Static,7 p.m. to 8 p.m.Tonyc, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

MAIN LOBBYJair, 9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.D-Rock, 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.Reepr, 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.Impact, 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Kickback, 7:30 p.m. to 8p.m.Pumpin’ Pete, 7 p.m. to 7:30p.m.Necio, 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.Frankiistylz, 6 p.m. to 6:30p.m.

VIP STAR BARScorpion, 9:30 to 10 p.m.Kash Kasanova, 9 p.m. to9:30 p.m.Banner, 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.Juiceman, 8 p.m. to 8:30p.m.Benny, 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.Alx, 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Noizekid, 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.Dutchkid, 6 p.m. to 6:30p.m.

PAGE 6A Zentertainment SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

ranging from comic booksand trading cards to sportsmemoribilia and anime/manga.

Organizers are current-ly looking for vendors forthe expo, which is comingback after an 8-year hiatus.

For more information,visit www.facebook.com/collectors.expo or call Mar-co Jalomo at 337-5192.

Barney and Friends to throw bash at LEA

The Laredo Energy Are-na is inviting everyone toBarney’s Birthday Bash.The loveable, huggablepurple dinosaur and hisfriends will sing and dancetheir way into your heartsin a brand-new, interactiveconcert party tour.

Barney’s Birthday Bashwill have two performanc-es at the arena on Wednes-day, July 13. Tickets for theperformances go on saleMonday, June 6, at 10 a.m.

Christian rock bandin benefit concertFireflight, an award-

nominated Christian rockband, will perform at theLaredo Civic Center onSunday, June 12, at 7:15p.m., to benefit the SouthTexas Food Bank.

Fireflight has been nom-inated for a Grammy asthe Christian Rock Band ofthe Year and the DoveAward. Also on the lineupwill be Texas rap-reggae-tone award winning artistX-Triste and the Christianrock band Living WaterSound.

Organizers say one halfof the proceeds go to TheSouth Texas Food Bank,which distributes food toeight counties from DelRio to Rio Grande City.

— The Zapata Times

Duelo, La Firmaat Papagallos

Roma’s mega popularnorteño group Duelo willbe in town Saturday night.

Duelo, led by singer-songwriter Ivan Treviño,will perform at PapagallosUSA, along with La Firma.

Duelo is known for hitsongs such as “Amiga Sole-dad,” “Insomnio,” “Bienve-nido El Amor,” “El AmorNo Acaba” and “Un Minu-to Más.” Most of Duelo’srepertoire is perfect forlovebirds, or for those whohave lost relationships.

The concert starts at 9p.m. Papagallos is at 5920San Bernardo Ave.

Laredo ArtistsAlliance hosts show

The Laredo Artists Alli-ance is hosting a live mu-sic show Saturday at Calal-vera’s Sports Bar & Grille,a new bar opening up.

The show will be head-lined by This Year’s Fash-ion of Corpus Christi andBefore The Gale from SanAntonio.

Local bands For theTaking, Above Reproach,Erebus and BacchanalianBliss will also play. Localindie bands Volatile Col-our and Sustaining TheBalance will start the livemusic. The event takesplace Saturday, beginningat 5:30 p.m.

South TexasCollectors Expo set for June 26

The Laredo Civic Centerconference rooms will hostthe South Texas CollectorsExpo on Sunday, June 26.

The event will featureall sorts of collectables

COMING UP

SÁBADO 28 DE MAYOLAREDO — La venta y taller

de Laredo Art League es hoy de 11a.m. a 4 p.m. en 4002 San Bernar-do Avenue. La entrada para el talleres de 20 dólares. Para informes,llame a Vegas Imports al 724-8251.

LAREDO — Show de carros ymotocicletas de las 12 p.m. a 6p.m. en Alexander Park, 6911 RocioDr., detrás de Texas CommunityBank de McPherson. Donación 1 dó-lar. Habrá música, juegos y diver-sión.

LAREDO — Laredo ArtistsAlliance será anfitrión de un espec-táculo musical en vivo hoy a partirde las 5:30 p.m. en Calavera’sSporst Bar & Grille.Cover de 5 a 10dólares.

LAREDO — Pase la tarde enel Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergarade TAMIU y explore “The Little StarThat Could” a las 5 p.m., “Earth,Moon, and Sun” a las 6 p.m. y “en-TRANCED” a las 7 p.m. Costo: 5dólares general.

LAREDO — Hoy es el Con-cierto Carnaval de Acero a las 7:30p.m. en el teatro del Guadalupe andLilia Martinez Fine Arts Center, delCampus Fort McIntosh de LCC. Cos-to: 3 dólares a beneficio de becasestudiantiles.

LAREDO — Kevin Fowler, Ro-ger Creager y Southern Scarred sepresentan en concierto en el CasaBlanca Ballroom a las 9 p.m.

LAREDO — Duelo y La Firmaen concierto hoy a las 9 p.m. enPapagallos USA.

LAREDO — Umano Aché sepresenta hoy a las 10 p.m. en Ave-rage Joe’s!, 9652 Mcpherson Road# 1.

TAMAULIPAS — Fecha límitepara recibir propuestas a la convo-catoria lanzada a escritores y estu-diantes interesados en participar enel encuentro Voces en la Frontera arealizarse el 10 y 11 de junio enMcAllen, Texas.

DOMINGO 29 DE MAYOLAREDO — La Carrera/Cami-

nata 5K de Memorial Day Scholars-hip es hoy. Inscripciones de 7:30a.m. a 8:25 a.m. en el Parque Cieli-to Lindo, 5600 Cielito Lindo Boule-vard, y es de 20 dólares. Informescon Alfredo Algredano al 763-2341.

LAREDO — Cabalgata La SitaRose VIP a partir de las 9 a.m. des-de Alexander Park para concluir enLaredo Life Downs. Donación de 20dólares para cabalgantes y 5 dóla-res por carreta.

LAREDO — Pase la tarde enel Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergarade TAMIU y disfrute “The Little StarThat Could” a las 5 p.m., “Earth,Moon, and Sun” a las 6 p.m. y “en-TRANCED” a las 7 p.m. Costo gene-ral: 5 dólares.

LAREDO — DJ TIESTO se pre-senta hoy en Laredo Energy Arenade 6 p.m. a 2 a.m. Precios varíande 100 dólares a 30 dólares. Ad-quiera sus boletos en taquilla deLEA y Ticketmaster.

NUEVO LAREDO — Domingosde Teatro Universario presenta“Confusiones” a las 7 p.m. en Tea-tro Lucio Blanco de la Casa de laCultura. Adolescentes y adultos. En-trada gratis.

MIÉRCOLES 1 DE JUNIOLAREDO — Pase la tarde en

el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergarade TAMIU y explore “The Little StarThat Could” a las 5 p.m., “Earth,Moon, and Sun” a las 6 p.m. y“Violent Universe: Catastrophes ofthe Cosmos” a las 7 p.m. Costo ge-neral: 5 dólares.

JUEVES 2 DE JUNIOLAREDO — Art for Hope y el

Laredo Center for the Arts tendránuna exhibición benéfica de 6 p.m. a8 p.m. en LCA, 500 avenida SanAgustin. Se venderá joyería, escultu-ra, fotografía, pinturas, con lo re-caudado beneficiando a la Cruz Ro-ja.

SÁBADO 4 DE JUNIOLAREDO — Una venta de li-

bros se llevará a cabo en el Wide-ner Room de la Iglesia First Metho-dist, 1220 McClellando Avenue, de8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m. Entrada gratuita.

LAREDO — Dunamis Minis-tries presenta Todd Keene y el Ori-ginal Power Team a las 7 p.m. apartir de hoy y mañana 5 de junioa las 11 a.m. y 6 p.m. en 1601 Shi-loh Dr. Informes al (956) 712-1171.

— Tiempo de Zapata

Agendaen Breve

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 28 DE MAYO DE 2011

NUEVO LAREDO — Pronósticos indican quelos meses de junio y julio registrarán tormentase inundaciones en áreas bajas locales, aunqueagosto y septiembre serán secos.

El Subdirector de Meteorología de la Direc-ción General de Protección Civil de la Secretaríade Gobernación, José Manuel Muñoz, ademásdijo que habrá 16 eventos climatológicos durantela temporada de huracanes y depresiones.

Muñoz realiza gira a fin de orientar a los ha-bitantes de las ciudades alineadas al Río Bravo.

“Se están previendo cuatro huracanes de cate-gorías 1 y 2, y seis de categorías 3”, dijo Muñoz.“Los vientos serán superiores ha 178 kilómetrospor hora. Los pasados meteoros registraron 300kilómetros por hora”.

El modelo que están manejando no podría de-tectar si se precipitaran 200 milímetros de aguaen una tormenta, dijo Muñoz.

Las lluvias de junio según la gráfica marca-ban intensas para la zona de Nuevo Laredo yáreas circunvecinas.

El Presidente Municipal Benjamín Galván Gó-

mez dijo que la prevención de desastres iniciacon el conocimiento y coordinación de instan-cias.

“Estamos involucrado para mejorar las ac-ciones preventivas”, dijo Galván.

Explicó que se intensificará la publicidad diri-gida a las familias neolaredenses para no azol-var los drenajes, buscando mantener arroyoslimpios para no represar el agua que pudieraocasionar daños en áreas bajas.

Uno de los puntos importantes, dijo Muñoz, esconcientizar a la gente para evitar lanzar basuraque pueda obstruir los drenajes y evitar con-struir viviendas en áreas identificadas como zo-na de riesgo y arroyos.

El Subdirector de Protección Civil Municipal,Humberto Fernández Diez de Pinos, dijo quecontinuarán operativos para mantener antes, du-rante y después de las precipitaciones pluvialeslas medidas de prevención.

En Nuevo Laredo existen varios puntos deriesgo, en caso de precipitaciones, como son lascolonias: Blanca Navidad, Insurgentes, Francis-co Villa, Itavu, Lomas del Rio y Voluntad IV.

(Localice a Miguel Timoshenkov en el 728-2583 oen mramirez@lmtonline.com)

ORIENTAN A RESIDENTES SOBRE CUIDADOS

Esperan lluvia para lossiguientes dos meses

POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOVTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

TALLER EN CIUDAD MIER

Resultado del taller de Cartonería, Alebrijes y Arte Objeto, dirigido por el Maestro Alejandro Rosales, en Ciudad Mier, el19 de mayo, se expusieron en una fuente las mariposas, flores y animales, elaborados por los participantes. El taller fuecoordinado por el ITCA junto con la Dirección de Turismo y Cultura Municipal. El siguiente paso será montar una expos-ición con las obras creadas.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

CARTÓN, ALEBRIJES Y ARTE

Residentes de Zapata podránencontrar su futuro con el La-redo Community College (LCC)este verano en su propia ciu-dad.

Para celebrar el lanzamientodel Centro de Educación Avan-zada del Condado de Zapata(Zapata County Advanced Edu-cation Center, ZCAEC por sussiglas en inglés), LCC ofrecerápor primera vez un Programade Puente de Verano para adul-tos buscando inscribirse encursos para prepararlos paraniveles colegiales de Inglés, lec-tura y/o matemáticas.

RequisitosPara determinar si el estu-

diante está listo para presentarcualquiera de los cursos depuente de verano, personal delCentro de Evaluación de LCCestará presente en Zapata HighSchool el martes 31 de mayo,para ofrecer el examen de eva-luación académica TCOMP(ACT COMPASS Placement Ex-

amination). Individuos puedenpresentar el examen en cualquiermomento entre 8:30 a.m. y 2 p.m.

Antes de presentar el examen,el estudiante debe contar conuna solicitud de admisión archi-vada en la Oficina de Inscripcióny Matrícula y con un número deidentificación (Palomino ID) parapoder presentarlo.

Existe una cuota de 18 dólarespor presentar el examen, la cualpuede ser pagada con cheque ogiro postal.

Los cursos de puente de vera-no, incluyendo ENGL 0373,READ 0375 y Math 0376, serán in-struidas en el ZCAEC del lunes 6de junio al miércoles 6 de julio.

Todas las clases se reunirán delunes a jueves, con el curso de In-glés programado de 5 p.m. a 7:20p.m.; lectura de 7:30 p.m. a 9:50p.m.; y matemáticas de 5 p.m. a7:20 p.m.

Los cursos serán instruidospor educadores calificados de Za-pata.

El ZCAEC está ubicado en 607Highway 83 South.

Para más información o ayu-da, comuníquese con la oficinadel Decano de LCC South al 794-4002.

EDUCACIÓN

LCC acerca clasesde verano a Zapata

POR STEVE TREVIÑO JR. ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Texas A&M InternationalUniversity anunció esta semanaque ofrecerá clases para créditocolegial en Zapata durante la Se-sión de Verano 2011, del 6 de ju-nio al 7 de julio.

Dos clases, American Nation-al Government e Introduction toSociology serán cátedras de Da-vid M. Brown y Cruz C. Torresen el Zapata County AdvancedEducation Center (Centro deEducación Avanzada del Conda-do de Zapata), Highway 83 ycalle 7, al cruzar la ZapataCounty Court House.

Brown acreditó los esfuerzosde los oficiales electos del con-dado y a TAMIU por trabajarunidos para desarrollar unacurrícula Universitaria viablepara la comunidad.

El que continúen las clasesdependen de tener inscripcionessuficientes, por lo que estu-diantes interesados son conmi-nados a registrar lo antes posi-ble.

Durante la Sesión Verano, alos estudiantes se les permite to-mar una o dos clases, pero no

más de dos, conforme las clasesse concentran en cuatro sema-nas.

“La ventaja es que estu-diantes tomando dos cursos deverano en Zapata están clasifi-cados como tiempo completo yson elegibles para recibir ayudafinanciera”, explicó Brown.

“Estudiantes y sus familiasahorrarán mucho dinero toman-do sus clases de currícula Uni-versitaria en Zapata en lugar detener que viajar diariamente deida y vuelta a Laredo”, dijo lavice presidenta asociada de Aca-demic Enrichment and Interna-tional Development, Carol Wa-ters.

Las clases están enlistadas enel catálogo de Sesión de Verano2011 de TAMIU como PSCI 2305American National Governmenty SOCI 1301 Introduction to So-ciology.

La clase de gobierno deBrown serán de 8 a.m. a 10 a.m.y la clase de sociología deTorres será de 10 a.m. al medio-día. Ambas de lunes a viernesen el aula de herramientas Vo-caciones en el nuevo ZapataCounty Advanced EducationCenter.

TAMIU ofrecerá dosclases en Zapata

POR STEVE HARMONESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

MÉXICO — El gobierno fed-eral acusó el viernes al directory a otros funcionarios de un pe-nal de Tamaulipas por la fugade 17 reos ocurrida el martes.

Los reos escaparon por unhueco en el área de lavanderíaque daba hacia un túnel conec-tado con el exterior del penal es-tatal de Reynosa.

Tamaulipas es un estado queen los últimos años ha registra-do diversas fugas en prisionesestatales.

El viernes, la ProcuraduríaGeneral de la República infor-mó la consignación de 12 funcio-narios del Centro de Ejecuciónde Sanciones de Reynosa(CEDES), entre los que se en-cuentra el director Inocencio Al-mazán Monroy, quienes son acu-sados por su presunta participa-ción en la evasión de los presos.

Doce de los fugados estabanpresos por delitos federales ycinco de fuero común.

Almazán y los otros funciona-rios fueron puestos a disposi-ción del juez séptimo de distri-to, quien resolverá su situaciónjurídica.

Tamaulipas es uno de los es-tados más afectados por el nar-cotráfico y en los últimos añosha registrado diversos problem-as con las prisiones, que autori-dades locales han vinculado conla dificultad para manejar a re-os procesados por delitos feder-ales.

Otros casosEn el estado se registró en di-

ciembre de 2010 la mayor fugade presos en la historia recientede México, cuando 153 reos es-caparon del penal estatal deNuevo Laredo.

En el mismo penal de Reyno-sa ya se había registrado otrafuga masiva en septiembre de2010, cuando escaparon 85 inter-nos.

Autoridades federales han di-cho en el pasado que algunas fu-gas se explican porque los car-teles de las drogas buscan re-cuperar algunos de susmiembros, ante las dificultadespara encontrar nuevos reclutas.

Tamaulipas es escenario deuna disputa entre los carteles ri-vales del Golfo y Los Zetas.

REYNOSA

PGRacusa adirectorde penal

Fuga ocurrió el martes 24 mayo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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8A THE ZAPATA TIMES National SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

JOPLIN, Mo. —Friends and family paidtribute to victims of theJoplin tornado on Fri-day, beginning the grimtask of burying the deadas officials said the sav-age storm’s death tollhad risen to 132 people.

As the first funeral be-gan just over the Kansasborder, city officials saidthe body count had goneup by six from the previ-ous day.

The state meanwhileworked to pare down thelist of people missingand unaccounted forsince the deadliest singleU.S. twister in more thansix decades.

The original list of 232missing or unaccountedfor residents haddropped to 156 by Friday,Missouri Department ofPublic Safety deputy di-rector Andrea Spillarssaid, adding that at least

90 people on the initial listhad been located alive.

But at least six otherswere identified as among thedead, and some new nameshad been added to the scrollof the missing. Authoritieshad cautioned for days thatwhile they believed many onthe list were alive and safe,others likely had been killed.

Significant overlapOn Friday afternoon, city

manager Mark Rohr ac-knowledged there may be“significant overlap” be-tween the confirmed dead

and the remainder of themissing list. Still, searchand rescue crews re-mained undeterred, with600 volunteers and 50 dogteams out again across thecity Friday.

Earlier Friday, hundredsof mourners packed Ten-nessee Friends PrairieChurch in Galena, Kan.,for the first funeral of thetornado’s confirmed vic-tims.

Few mentioned thedeadly twister, or even thecircumstances underwhich Adam DewayneDarnaby died four daysshort of his 28th birthday.

Instead, they celebratedthe life of a devout Chris-tian who loved his wife ofless than three years andwas a favorite uncle tonine nieces and nephews.

Darnaby was describedas a hunter, former highschool football player andavid catfish fishermanwho made fast friends. Hewatched little televisionbecause, in the words of aclose friend, “he was toobusy living.”

The funeral service con-cluded with a recording of“A Country Boy Can Sur-vive,” a paean to rural lifeby Hank Williams Jr.

A flag files at half staff over devastated Joplin High School next to a portable tornado siren in Joplin, Mo., Thursday. An EF-5 tornadotore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 125 people.

Photo by Charlie Riedel | AP

Joplin tornado death toll risesBy NOMAAN MERCHANT AND ALAN

SCHER ZAGIERASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — There’sless money this summerfor hotel rooms, surfboardsand bathing suits. It’s allgoing into the gas tank.

High prices at the pumpare putting a squeeze onthe family budget as thetraditional summer drivingseason begins. For every$10 the typical householdearns before taxes, almosta full dollar now goes to-ward gas, a 40 percent big-ger bite than normal.

Households spent an av-erage of $369 on gas lastmonth. In April 2009, theyspent just $201. Familiesnow spend more filling upthan they spend on cars,clothes or recreation.

Jeffrey Wayman of CapeCharles, Va., spent Fridayriding his motorcycle toNorth Carolina’s OuterBanks, a day trip with hiswife.

They decided to eatsnacks in a gas stationparking lot rather than buylunch because rising fuelprices have eaten so muchinto their budget over thepast year that they can’tride as frequently as theywould like.

“We used to do it a lotmore, but not as muchnow,” he said. “You have tocut back when you have a$480 gas bill a month.”

As Memorial Day week-end opens, the nationwideaverage for a gallon of un-leaded is $3.81. Thoughprices have drifted lower inrecent days, analysts expectthe average price for 2011to come in higher than theprevious record, $3.25 in2008. A year ago, gas cost$2.76.

The squeezeThe squeeze is happen-

ing at a time when mostpeople aren’t getting raises,even as the economy recov-ers.

“These increases are notsomething consumers canshrug off,” says James Ha-milton, an economics pro-fessor at the University ofCalifornia, San Diego, whostudies gas prices. “It’s akey part of the family bud-get.”

The ramifications arefar-reaching for an econo-my still struggling to gainmomentum two years intoa recovery. Economists saythe gas squeeze makes peo-ple feel poorer than theyactually are.

They’re showing it bylimiting spending far be-yond the gas station. Wal-mart recently blamed highgas prices for an eighthstraight quarter of lowersales in the U.S. Target saidgas prices were hurtingsales of clothes.

Every 50-cent jump inthe cost of gasoline takes$70 billion out of the U.S.economy over the course ofa year, Hamilton says.That’s about one half of onepercent of gross domesticproduct.

The Commerce Depart-ment reported Friday thatconsumer spending rose

just 0.1 percent in April, ex-cluding the extra moneyspent on more expensivegas and food, while wagesstayed flat for the secondstraight month.

Clipping couponsMike Nason, a market-

ing consultant from Lagu-na Niguel, Calif., says he’sclipping coupons to savemoney for gas and cuttingback wherever else he can.His daughter Chandler, 17,recently settled for a promdress that cost $170 insteadof asking her parents tospend $400 for another thatcaught her eye.

“In prior years we wouldhave spent more money onthe dress, but money hasbecome a big object,” hesays.

The tourism industry isbracing for an uncertainsummer. AAA predicts thetypical family will spend$692 on its vacation, down14 percent from $809 lastyear. Many of those sur-veyed said they are plan-ning shorter trips and ex-pect to pinch pennies whenthey arrive.

AAA estimates 34.9 mil-lion Americans will travel50 miles or more fromhome this weekend, an in-crease of about 100,000 fromlast year. But they will haveto do more complicatedmath to make the summerbudget work.

Gas tanks drainfamily budgets

By JONATHAN FAHEYASSOCIATED PRESS “You have to cut

back when youhave a $480gas bill amonth.”JEFFREY WAYMAN OF CAPECHARLES, VA.

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

ZAPATA — Jack L.Moore passed away Friday,May 20, 2011, at DoctorsHospital in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Moore is precededin death by his parents:Jack B. and Mary EllenMoore; in-laws, Manuel M.and Araceli G. Lopez; andbrother Harvey Jay Moore.

Mr. Moore is survivedby his wife, Estela AdelfaLopez Moore; sons: JeffreyLee (Jessica) Moore, JackLou (Jeannette) Moore andJason Lanny (Mandi)Moore; daughter, Jennifer(David) Gonzalez; grand-children: Jacklyn, DavidIII, Caden, Derek, Collinand Laney; brother Mi-chael (Olga) Moore; andnumerous family andfriends.

Honorary pallbearerswere Enrique A. Lopez,Eloy A. Lopez, Eliseo A.

Lopez, Eustolio A. Lopez,Jay Harvey Moore Jr., Ga-ry Wayne Moore andRicky Dale Moore.

Pallbearers were JeffreyLee Moore, Jack LouMoore Jr., Jason LannyMoore, David Gonzalez Jr.,Norberto Cantu, MarioBarrera, Ricardo SalinasJr. and Roberto Peña.

Visitation hours were

held Monday, May 23, 2011,from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. witha rosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.The funeral procession de-parted Tuesday, May 24,2011, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch in Zapata, Texas.

Committal services fol-lowed at Zapata CountyCemetery with full mili-tary honors.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 U.S.83, Zapata, Texas.

JACK L. MOORE

WASHINGTON — Thecentral question of whetherthe U.S.-Mexico border issecure lies at the heart ofan open-ended politicalstalemate over comprehen-sive immigration reform.

The facts are in such dis-pute and perceptions so dif-ferent that public testimo-nies and political pot shotstell a tale of two borders.

President Obama andDemocrats such as Rep.Henry Cuellar, D-Texas,whose district includes Za-pata, insist that the borderis secure enough to proceedwith immigration reform.

The border remains “asafe place for my familyand for other families eventhough crime takes placelike any other place,” saysCuellar, 45, son of migrantworkers whose brotherserves as sheriff of WebbCounty.

“Critics who don’t wantimmigration reform justkeep moving the goal postson border security.”

Prominent Republicanssuch as U.S. Rep. MichaelMcCaul, R-Texas, chairmanof a House Homeland Secu-rity Committee oversightpanel, see a dire threat tonational security highlight-ed by cartel-related oper-ations in 276 U.S. cities.

McCaul and other criticspoint to an investigation bythe Government Account-ability Office — the audi-ting arm of Congress —that found only 44 percentof the Southwestern borderwas under “operationalcontrol” by federal law en-forcement.

“I’m not looking at thisfrom a partisan stand-point,” says McCaul, 49, a

former federal prosecutorand deputy attorney gener-al of Texas. “The adminis-tration is playing politicswith the border, saying it’ssecure so we can move for-ward with immigration re-form. In my judgment, theborder is not secure yet.”

So who’s right? Whoreally knows?

Elected leaders enjoy alicense to press their ownassessments because no da-ta exists “that can definite-ly answer the question ofwhether there has been asignificant spillover of drugtrafficking-related violenceinto the United States,” re-ports the Congressional Re-search Service.

Indeed, there’s not evenan agreed definition of“spillover violence.”

No one agency appearsto use the same exact crite-ria to define spillover vio-lence or cartel-related ac-tivity, leading to a lack ofconsistent statistics behindthe conflicting portrayals.

In fact, not even Texasborder sheriffs can findcommon ground.

Zapata County SheriffSigifredo Gonzalez sees “aconstant threat” of spill-over violence. He citescross-border gunfire that

has inadvertently hit col-leges in Brownsville and ElPaso.

“The feds say our side ofthe border is safe, but wehave bullet holes in ourschools and businesses thatsay otherwise,” Gonzalezsays.

But in El Paso, DeputySheriff Jesse Tovar saysmere proximity to Mexico— rather than a concertedcartel attack — accountsfor the cross-border gunfirehitting El Paso city halland the University of Texasat El Paso.

“We cannot attribute ev-ery violent crime to drugcartels because that is notthe case,” Tovar said.“We’re not experiencingthe level of violence we’reseeing across the border,the beheadings, the bodieshung from bridges, the gunbattles on downtownstreets.”

For their part, congres-sional researchers haveconcluded the scope ofspillover violence remainselusive. Experts cannot de-termine “specifically whatproportion of drug traffick-ing-related violent crimescan be attributed to spill-over violence,” the analyststold Congress.

Border security haltsimmigration reformBy STEWART M. POWELL

HOUSTON CHRONICLE “The administration is playingpolitics with the border, saying it’ssecure so we can move forwardwith immigration reform. In myjudgment, the border is not secureyet.”U.S. REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL, R-TEXAS

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Da-vid Dewhurst announcedFriday that lawmakersreached a deal on a newschool finance law that al-lows the state to legallygive schools less moneyover the next two years.

Dewhurst spoke afterhours of closed door nego-tiations between lawmak-ers from the Texas Houseand Senate. Both sides hadcompeting ideas for how toslash $4 billion from publiceducation.

The deal would cut allschools equally in 2012, andthen institute a new schoolfunding formula from 2013-2018.

“We are really pleased,”Dewhurst said, calling it a“darn good agreement.”

The last sticking pointhad been how long the newfinance plan would last.House lawmakers wanted atwo-year plan and the Sen-ate wanted a five-year plan.

Negotiators did immedi-ately release all the detailson the plan.

Gov. Rick Perry hadjoined the negotiations lateFriday afternoon to prodlawmakers toward a deal.Legislators were facing aFriday deadline to reachagreement in order to havea vote by Sunday. The ses-sion ends Monday.

Dewhurst said Perryand state lawmakers want-ed to make sure they“didn’t leave this sessionand the schools couldn’twrite their budgets.”

If it becomes law, the

plan would be the first ma-jor school funding overhaulTexas lawmakers passedwithout a court order.

House Republicans andDemocrats who representrural districts and poor, ur-ban ones had been frustrat-ed by what they called alack of information fromtheir colleagues negotiat-ing the deal. They saidthey didn’t want to beasked to make a last-min-ute vote on a plan that willcut even more from theirlocal schools.

“This is not a Republi-can-Democrat issue,” saidRep. Jim Keffer, R-Granbu-ry. “Rural school districtsneed to be looked at justlike the urban, suburban,fast-growth districts, sothat all are treated equallyand whatever pain and suf-fering there is spreadaround.”

Lawmakers reach dealSchools to get

less fundingBy JIM VERTUNO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Federal authorities al-lege they seized abouttwo tons of cocaine, val-ued at $19 million, belong-ing to Los Zetas in Mon-clova in the Coahuilastate. This town is locatedapproximately 156 mileswest of Nuevo Laredo.These actions yielded sev-eral arrests, weapons andmaterial used for ar-mored vehicles.

The Secretaría de Ma-rina or SEMAR, Mexico’snavy, announced Wednes-day they received infor-mation about propertiesowned by Los Zetas inCoahuila. Federal author-ities say they targetedranches, stash houses, ve-hicles, narcotics, weaponsdrugs and radio commu-nication devices used byZeta leaders.

On Tuesday, marinesexecuted a “special oper-ation” in Monclova at aranch located about 25

miles from the city. SE-MAR officials say theylanded a “blunt hit” onthe criminal organizationby seizing 1,057 packagescontaining a white pow-dery substance similar tococaine.

A SEMAR news releasestates the contraband isvalued at $19 million. Of-ficials say the narcoticwas well guarded by sev-eral men. Marines arrest-ed Lorenzo Villegas Pala-cios, 58; Pedro FernándezRamírez, 32; Carlos LópezIzaguirre, 25; Rubén Fer-nández Ramírez, 32; Ber-nardino González Trevi-ño, 38; and JonathanAgüero Fernández, 27. Af-ter canvassing the proper-ty, the Mexican navy con-fiscated five assault rif-fles, 20 ammo clips, 330rounds of ammunitionand grenades.

That same day, soldierstargeted another ranch inMonclova, alleged to be-long to Los Zetas. SEMARofficials say, there, theyfound “important evi-dence” indicating theplace could’ve been usedas shelter. Officials also

found “documents andimportant information”to locate and follow up ontop leaders for the crimi-nal organization.

Mexican marinesfound a 33-feet deep tun-nel with no exit. Itstretched about 328 feetunderground. Officialsbelieved the tunnel wasused to escape or to stashweapons or narcotics. Inthe surrounding area, of-ficials found a small ro-deo arena, where theyseized some horses.

Later on that day, feder-al authorities received ananonymous tip leading toa house, which was usedto stash weapons and nar-cotics. Cars, trucks, am-mo, radio communicationdevices were seized fromthere. Also in Monclova,soldiers found under-ground shops to craft ar-mored vehicles. Druggang members craft thesevehicles — also known asnarcotanks — with steelplates to fight their rivals.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmton-line.com)

Mexican navy authorities stand guard over two tons of cocaine they say was confiscated from LosZetas near Monclova, Coahuila.

Courtesy photo | SEMAR

Cocaine seizureNavy confiscates2 tons of drugs

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

session was over.“There is a huge opening

(in) the Republican presi-dential primary for some-one with strong credentialswith the tea party and so-cial conservatives,” saidMark McKinnon, a long-time political consultantand former George W. Bushpolitical adviser. “Rick Per-ry has great credentialswith both, he’s the longestserving governor in Texashistory and is about to fin-ish what conservatives willview as a very successfullegislative session becausehe balanced the budgetthrough spending cuts.

“The only real questionis: Why wouldn’t he run?”

So far, operatives in Per-ry’s circle are not laying thegroundwork and he has yetto make the required tripsto the early nominatingstates of Iowa, New Hamp-shire or South Carolina.And later Friday, Perryspokesman Mark Minertried to downplay the com-

ments.“Of course he thinks

about it, it’s natural to thinkabout it,” Miner said. “Butthat doesn’t change the factthat he has no intention ofrunning.”

When asked by The Asso-ciated Press if Perry himselfwould be willing to say hehas “no intention” of run-ning, Miner refused tomake him available. He lat-er said the governor was inmeetings and unavailable.

Perry has been a darlingof the tea party and couldignite a groundswell of sup-port among the libertarian-leaning, anti-tax movement.He was an early endorser ofthe groups that helped Re-publicans take control of theU.S. House, statehouses and

governors’ offices in 2010.The loosely organized tea

party movement hasn’t yetgelled around a candidate,despite efforts from declaredcandidates Tim Pawlentyand Newt Gingrich to winthem over.

“The candidates that arerunning are not the candi-dates that people want,”said Ryan Hecker, organizerof the Contract From Amer-ica and member of theHouston Tea Party Society.“They’re looking for some-one, almost wistfully.”

Perry, Hecker said,“would be an excellent addi-tion to the field.”

In recent years, Perry hasmade a sport out of bashingWashington. Most often, heattacks the federal govern-

ment for failing to securethe U.S. border with Mexico.In November, he publisheda book, “Fed Up!” It de-scribes the federal govern-ment as financially recklessand out of control whilecalling for a resurgence ofstate-based power.

Should he decide to run,Perry would presumablycome to the table without atleast one of the top adviserswho helped him win re-elec-tion last year by 13 points.His campaign managerfrom that bid, Rob Johnson,is with Gingrich. Politicaladviser Dave Carney, a for-mer aide to President Ro-nald Reagan, also is withGingrich — although hestill serves as Perry’s seniorpolitical strategist.

PERRY Continued from Page 1A

When asked about the race before Friday, Perry hadsaid repeatedly he was focused on the state’slegislative session and not the 2012 race.

dams like that, and we gotaround to fixing all ofthem,” Dodier said. “(But)we had commitments be-yond our legislative fund-ing. We kind of had toscrounge around and ex-plain to people what wewere doing.”

This program is current-ly one of the board’s pri-mary concerns regardingfunding.

The TSSWCB receivedsignificant commendationsduring its Sunset Review,which authorized theboard’s existence for an-other 12 years. The SunsetReview is a commissionformed by the Legislatureand comprises senatorsand state representativeswho audit state programsbased not only on financesbut on policies and objec-tives. The commissionthen makes recommenda-tion and presents the re-view to the House of Rep-

resentatives and the Sen-ate. Both the House andSenate voted unanimouslyin favor of keeping theTSSWCB.

“We’re good to go,” saida relieved Dodier. “We do alot with the dollars we get,and that’s what impressedthem.”

A project that he is ea-ger to begin is tackling theissue of underground wa-ter districts, which ZapataCounty and Webb Countydon’t have.

“We’re looking at possi-bly going in with WebbCounty, but we also wantto make sure we (in Zapa-

ta) don’t lose the effect,”Dodier said. He also notedthat Webb has water wellopportunities in the north-ern part of the county.Plans will commence atthe start of the next legis-lative session, where theboard will begin by clarify-ing the current regula-tions.

The severe drought af-fecting the region, whichhe said is “devastating foragricultural production,”still has Dodier worried.

“That’s been an issue fora lot of ranchers.”

It’s an issue that theboard doesn’t regulate.

The board focuses on ag-gressively promoting wa-ter conservation practices,but ultimately, it is the vol-untary will of citizens toput them into practice.But, if there’s one thingthat is apparent, it is Do-dier’s faith in the valueTexas residents place ontheir property. When de-scribing the beauty of theTexas landscape, Dodier isquick to point out that be-hind the beauty are peoplewho work hard to conserveit.

(Erica Matos can bereached at 728-2567 or ema-tos@lmtonline.com)

BOARD Continued from Page 1A

“The original number was going to be … over $50million over 10 years.”TSSWC BOARD MEMBER JOSE DODIER JR.

hicle. An inspection ofthe vehicle yielded 100small bundles of marijua-na. Its approximateweight was little morethan a ton. Federal au-thorities also found a gre-nade and five ammoclips.

On Tuesday, PGR au-thorities announced sol-diers found 1,953 poundsof marijuana abandonedin a brush area. Mexicanmilitary personnel saythey found the contra-band while patrolling thevicinity of Ciudad Gusta-vo Diaz Ordaz, a townabout 24 miles southeastof Ciudad Camargo,which sits across the bor-der from Rio Grande City.

Federal authorities saya rural road on the out-skirts of the city ledthem to the discovery of121 small packages cov-ered with a camouflage

canvas. The packagescontained marijuana andweighed almost a ton.

Ciudad Gustavo DiazOrdaz saw some actionlast weekend as well. Atabout 3:45 p.m., membersof organized crime shotat soldiers patrolling ru-ral roads outside of town.

SEDENA officials say agun battle erupted, kill-ing five alleged offenders.Federal authorities thenseized 27 assault riffles,94 ammo clips, 4,052rounds of ammo, two gre-nades, six vehicles andother tactical equipment.

These actions were exe-cuted as part of Oper-ation Northeast, whichtargets organized crimi-nal activity in the north-ern part of Mexico.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmton-line.com)

CARTEL Continued from Page 1A

YEMEN PROTEST

Photo by Mohammed Al-Sayaghi | AP

Anti-government protestors attend Friday prayers during a dem-onstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President AliAbdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday. Fighting that rockedSanaa for the past five days spread beyond the capital on Fridayas Yemeni tribesmen opposed to the rule of President Ali Ab-dullah Saleh seized a Republican Guard military camp.

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

LAREDO – The 9th An-nual Mercy-Bosom Buddiesall-star volleyball game tookplace on Wednesday at St.Augustine High School.

Zapata coach Rosie Villar-real was tabbed to coach theWest All-Stars that comprisedof players from six Laredoschools.

Mario Zaragoza and MyraMontez assisted Villarreal atthe game.

The game took place infront of a packed crowd thatwas there to witness some ofthe best Laredo volleyballhad to offer.

Villarreal’s team consistedof Cigarroa’s Raquel Marti-nez and Alejandra Reyes;United’s Kristen Ovalle, Kari-na De Anda and Ashley Ever-ett; Nixon’s Celinda Verasti-gui; Alexander’s Daisy Gon-zalez; United South’s LindaResendez and LBJ’s Stepha-nie Almanza.

The East overcame a slow

start to overtake the West infive games, 15-25, 25-18, 27-25,14-25 and 16-14 to claim thevictory.

“For a coach to be able tocoach a bunch of really tal-ented seniors against anotherbunch of talented seniors,and be able to gel as a teamlike they have been playingfor a while, was a great wayto end the year,” Villarrealsaid. “Plus this a great cause,and what the Mercy-BosomBuddies has done for nineyears is great.”

All the proceeds from theMercy-Bosom Buddies all-stargames went to the MercyCancer Assistance Programthat helps out indigent can-cer patients in the Laredoand surrounding communi-ties.

“To be able to play for acause that helps people be-cause they can not afford it, itis awesome,” Villarreal said.

This year’s games raisedmore than $10,000, putting thenine-year total of the gamesto more than $73,000.

VOLLEYBALL

Zapata volleyball coach Rosie Villarreal, far left, poses for a photo with her West All-Star team at this year’s Bosom Buddies All-Star games in Lare-do.

Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times

ALL-STAR COACHZapata’s Villarreal lends hand to Bosom Buddies

By CLARA SANDOVALTHE ZAPATA TIMES

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The head ofSwitzerland’s anti-doping laboratory on Fridaydenied claims that Lance Armstrong tested pos-itive for performance-enhancing drugs at the2001 Tour de Suisse and the results were cov-ered up.

Martial Saugy said his Lausanne lab did findsuspicious levels of banned blood-booster EPOin four urine samples from the race that Arm-strong won, but he didn’t know if any belongedto the seven-time Tour de France winner.

“The tests were not swept under the table andit’s not true that they could have been interpret-ed as positive,” Saugy told Swiss daily NeueZurcher Zeitung.

Former teammate Tyler Hamilton alleged inan interview with “60 Minutes” last Sundaythat Armstrong spoke of using EPO to preparefor his third Tour de France win in 2001, andthat cycling’s governing body helped him hide apositive test at the Swiss warm-up event.

The CBS program also reported that Interna-tional Cycling Union officials brokered a meet-ing involving Armstrong and Saugy’s World An-

CYCLING

Criticsallegedoping

scandalOfficials deny

conspiracyASSOCIATED PRESS

See ARMSTRONG PAGE 2B

DALLAS — Back in the NBA finals, back to trying to beat the MiamiHeat.

Pretty wild how things have worked out for the Dallas Mavericks, isn’tit? “It doesn’t really matter that much to me,” Dirk Nowitzki said Friday.

“No thought whatsoever,” echoed Jason Terry. Oh, well. So much for the story line of the 2011 Mavs seek-

ing redemption for 2006. If the only two holdovers don’tcare, nobody else should.

The message Nowitzki and Terry are sending is thisclub is focused on beating whatever team the NBAplayoff bracket throws their way.

They’ve already gone through LaMarcus Aldridgeand the Trail Blazers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol andthe Lakers and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrookand the Thunder. So, for their final act, they mightas well get the team everyone’s been talking aboutsince last summer — LeBron James, DwyaneWade, Chris Bosh and a Miami franchise that co-incidentally was the club that got in Dallas’ wayfive years ago.

Nowitzki emphasized another point: Thisisn’t about the Heat and what they do. It’s aboutthe Mavericks continuing to do the things thathave helped them win 10 of their last 11 playoffgames, including five straight on the road.

“We just got to go for it and do the things thatgot us here — aggressive defense, rebound the

ball and ball movement on the offensive end of thefloor,” he said.

The Mavericks locked up their second trip to thefinals on Wednesday night. The next night, the Heatwrapped up their second trip to the finals, setting upthe ’06 rematch starting Tuesday in Miami.

Terry is an emotional player who fires himself upby sleeping in the other team’s uniform shorts the nightbefore every game. So, at the very least, when he sawthe Heat wrap up the East title, he probably let out a,

NBA

Nowitzki downplays’06 rematch

HOUSTON — A person familiar with the situationsays the Houston Rockets are close to hiring KevinMcHale as their new coach.

The person says the team is negotiating a contractwith McHale. The person spoke Friday on condition ofanonymity because the deal is not yet com-plete.

McHale would take over for RickAdelman, who left the team days afterhis fourth season in Houston.

McHale, a Hall of Fame player forthe Boston Celtics, spent 15 years withthe Timberwolves in his native Min-nesota. He was let go in 2009 and hasrecently served as a TV analyst.

The 53-year-old McHale would be-come Houston’s third coach since2003, when Rudy Tomjanovich steppeddown for health reasons. Jeff VanGundy coached the team from 2003-07,taking the Rockets to three playoff ap-pearances.

Houston has missed the playoffsthe last two years as it dealt with in-juries that have limited All-Star centerYao Ming to just five games since the2008-09 season. That year, Houston reachedthe Western Conference semifinals, break-ing a streak of seven consecutive first-roundexits for the franchise.

Yao’s contract expires this summer, buthe has said he hopes to continue playingfor the Rockets when he recovers from thestress fracture to his left ankle.

McHale’s time as an executive in Min-nesota was highlighted by drafting KevinGarnett out of high school in 1995. Othermoves and draft decisions didn’t go overas well with fans and he began to draw

McHale closes in on Rockets jobBy KRISTIE RIEKENASSOCIATED PRESS

See ROCKETS PAGE 2B

By JAIME ARONASSOCIATED PRESS

See MAVS PAGE 2BPhoto by Eric Gay | AP Photo by Ann Heisenfelt | AP

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

ti-Doping Agency-accredit-ed lab, which tested theSwiss race samples.

Armstrong made a dealwith the UCI and “figuredout a way for it to goaway,” Hamilton said.

Saugy said Friday thathe did meet with Arm-strong and then U.S. Post-al team manager JohanBruyneel, but not in Lau-sanne as Hamiltonclaimed and unconnectedto a suspicious test result.

“It also wasn’t aboutdiscussing a particular re-sult or to cover up any-thing,” said Saugy, addingthat the 2002 meeting oc-curred during a collectionof blood samples.

Saugy said he gave U.S.Postal his routine present-ation about EPO testing ata time when its validityand parameters were stillin question.

“I explained how theEPO test worked and whythere were suspect sam-ples as well as positiveones,” he told the NZZ.

Saugy, whose lab de-vised the UCI’s biologicalpassport program to mon-itor riders’ blood, said on-ly the governing bodyknew who provided thefour suspicious samples adecade ago.

On Monday, the UCIsaid it “categorically re-

jects” Hamilton’s claimsthat it said were “com-pletely unfounded.”

Hein Verbruggen, whowas UCI presidentthroughout Armstrong’sTour winning streak, saidthe governing body “nev-er, ever” covered up a pos-itive test under his leader-ship.

Verbruggen and currentpresident Pat McQuaidare suing cyclist FloydLandis in a Swiss courtafter he accused the UCIof protecting star ridersfrom doping allegations.

Landis and Hamiltonhave both confessed todoping throughout theircareers after years of de-nials.

Both have spoken withU.S. federal investigatorswho are investigating analleged doping programin Armstrong’s teams.

Armstrong steadfastlydenies doping and hasnever tested positive.

“These most recent de-velopments debunk Sun-day’s “60 Minutes” story,and underscore the evil ofsloppy, opportunistic at-tacks on a hero to thosebattling cancer, based onfalse, leaked informationabout long ago bicycleraces in Europe,” Arm-strong attorney Mark Fa-biani said Friday.

ARMSTRONG Continued from Page 1B

criticism. McHale’s first coaching

experience came when hetook over the Wolves forthe last 31 games of the2005 season after he firedFlip Saunders. He wentback to the front office af-ter that before returningto the position in 2008 afterRandy Wittman was fired.

He went 20-43 after tak-ing over that season beforethe Timberwolves let himgo.

McHale was the thirdoverall pick in the 1980draft, won three champion-ships with the Celtics andwas named one of the 50greatest NBA players of alltime in 1996.

ROCKETS Continued from Page 1B

“Here we go again,” witheither a smile or a frownto indicate how he feltabout it.

But he also explainedwhy it’s so easy to be dis-passionate about this.

“Only two people on thisteam are still playing,Dirk and I,” he said. “Forthem, it’s Wade and (Udo-nis) Haslem. It’s really notthe same situation.”

Clearly, he’s done hishomework, proving he hasgiven some thought to thisbeing a rematch.

“Then, for us, I (was)the point guard. Lookwho’s the point guardnow!” Terry said, laugh-ing. “Big difference.”

Yes, Jason Kidd is anupgrade from Terry, whois better suited for his roleas a scorer, specifically theinstant-offense guy off thebench. Mavs fans alsomight chuckle about Dal-las’ starting center in ’06,Erick Dampier, now play-ing for Miami. He’s yet toplay this postseason.

In 2006, Dallas won thefirst two games at home,then went to Miami andmelted down. They blew abig lead in the fourthquarter of Game 3 andnever recovered. Pat Rileyof the Heat not only out-

coached Avery Johnson ofthe Mavericks, Johnsonmay have outsmarted him-self by moving hotels mid-way through their stay inFlorida, fearing that SouthBeach was too much of adistraction.

Johnson’s successor,Rick Carlisle, isn’t con-cerned about it being anissue this time.

“Not with our curfew,”he said, offering a raregiggle.

With Kidd and Nowitzkivs. James and Wade, eachteam starts two playerswho are among the best oftheir generation. Theclubs have a lot more incommon: both 12-3 thispostseason, both closingout the conference finalsin five games.

In the regular season,the Mavs and Heat tied forthe most road wins. Therewas only a one-game dif-ference in overall wins —58 for Miami, 57 for Dal-las; that’s why the seriesis starting on the Heat’s

court. Had they had thesame record, the Maver-icks would’ve had the edgebecause they won bothhead-to-head meetings.

Because those gameswere in November and De-cember, Carlisle insiststhey don’t matter. Still, it’sworth noting those wereMiami’s only two losses ina 24-2 stretch that provedto everyone this experi-ment of superstars whoare good friends teamingup to win a title justmight work.

The backlash from thatpairing — and the way“The Decision” was han-dled last summer — pro-duced a huge group ofHeat haters. Those folksare now Mavs lovers, acuddly acceptance that’sunusual for this franchise.

“There’s no good guys,bad guys,” Nowitzki said.“There’s two good teamsthat made it to this stageand both want to win. SoI’m not really worriedabout all that stuff.”

Nowitzki was a freeagent last summer, too.Teams didn’t pursue himbecause they were so surehe would remain in Dal-las. But he admitted hewould have listened hadJames and Wade invitedhim to be part of whatthey were putting togeth-er.

“But they didn’t, so itwasn’t really an option,”he said.

For some former MVPs,such a snub would be an-other reason to hold agrudge against the Heat.

Not Nowitzki. A few weeks shy of turn-

ing 33, all he cares aboutis winning his first cham-pionship and the first forhis franchise, no matterwho it comes against orhow.

“I like how we foughtthrough some stuff, someups and downs throughthe years,” he said. “Ittook us a long time to getback here. Hopefully wecan make it count.”

MAVS Continued from Page 1B

With Kidd and Nowitzki vs. James and Wade, eachteam starts two players who are among the best oftheir generation.

DALLAS — The NFLand the Dallas Cowboyshave asked a federalcourt judge to dismiss theclass-action lawsuit filedon behalf of Super Bowlticket holders who woundup with no seats for thegame.

About 1,250 temporaryseats at Cowboys Stadiumin Arlington were deemedunsafe just hours beforethe Feb. 6 game betweenthe Green Bay Packersand Pittsburgh Steelers.That forced about 850ticket holders to move tonew seats and 400 othersto watch the game fromstanding-room locations.

A 26-page motion filedby the league and theteam on Thursday saysthe ticket holders aren’tentitled to compensationbeyond what they’ve al-ready been offered. It alsosays the ticket holdersweren’t defrauded as a re-sult of the fiasco.

The motion states thatthe NFL could revoketicket-holding privilegesas long as it provided arefund. In this instance,the league said it went“beyond its contractualobligations” when it of-fered displaced fans theactual prices they paidfor their tickets as well asall documented travel,lodging and meal expens-es

According to the mo-tion, the NFL and theCowboys didn’t know un-til just before the gamethat the temporary seatswould be inadequate andworked into the afternoonthat day to deal with theissue.

“Defendants had noth-ing to gain by tricking

ticket holders,” the filingsays. “With the eyes ofthe world focusing on theSuper Bowl, it is implau-sible to suggest that de-fendants intended whatwould obviously be a pub-lic relations nightmare.”

Plaintiff defendsMichael Avenatti, a Los

Angeles attorney who isrepresenting the ticketholders, said the motionrepresents flawed think-ing by the league and theteam.

“The defendants have afundamental misunder-standing of what theirobligations are under thelaw,” he said.

Avenatti said morethan 3,000 people are cov-ered by the class action,which includes ticketholders who discovered atthe game that their seatsdid not allow them to seethe stadium’s giant videoboard.

Super Bowllawsuit

contestedBy DANNY ROBBINSASSOCIATED PRESS A 26-page

motion filedby the leagueand the teamon Thursdaysays the ticketholders aren’tentitled tocompensationbeyond whatthey’vealready beenoffered.

SAN FRANCISCO —Ray Fosse watched thecrushing blow to Giantsstar Buster Posey and won-dered why after all theseyears there are still fewrules to protect catchers atthe plate.

If there’s anybody whoknows about collisions, it’sFosse.

He was at the center ofone of the most iconic hitsin baseball history, whenPete Rose barreled overhim to score the winningrun in the 1970 All-Stargame. Fosse’s right shoul-der was permanently rear-ranged, and while he brief-ly rebounded from the inju-ry, it started a downwardslide to a career that wasultimately cut short.

“After Rose hit me in ’70,I had two guys that blind-sided me, guys who hit mestanding up,” said Fosse,who stopped short of ask-ing baseball to rewrite therule book. “There’s neveranybody ejected for that.”

The clean but cringe-in-ducing crash between Po-sey and Florida’s ScottCousins this week has stillreignited the decades-olddebate over plays at theplate.

Posey, the 2010 NL Roo-kie of the Year and one ofthe game’s brightest youngstars, fractured a bone in

his lower left leg and torethree ligaments in his an-kle. His season is likelyover.

In the past few years, theNFL has cracked down onviolent hits and increasedfines with an eye on playersafety. The league also an-nounced this week a policyof “club accountability” forteams whose players re-peatedly are fined for fla-grant hits.

Some in baseball areasking for similar action inthe wake of Posey’s injury.Others argue home platecollisions are as much apart of baseball tradition aspeanuts and Cracker Jacksand the seventh-inningstretch.

Giants manager BruceBochy, a former catcherwho had multiple head in-juries in his playing days,called on Major LeagueBaseball to explore ideas toprotect players.

“I think we do need toconsider changing therules here a little bit be-cause the catcher is so vul-nerable and there’s somany who have gottenhurt,” Bochy said. “And notjust a little bit, had theircareers ended or short-ened.”

Even with advances intechnology and improvedgear, collisions at the platestill cause lasting injuries.

Angels catcher BobbyWilson had a severe con-

cussion and injured his leftleg in a collision with Yan-kees slugger Mark Teixeiralast year. It was Wilson’sfirst big league start be-hind the plate.

“The next thing I re-membered was sitting in awheelchair,” said Wilson,who missed 21 games whileon the disabled list.

His manager, Mike Scios-cia, caught more gamesthan any player in Dodgershistory and endured nu-merous collisions, includ-ing a couple of memorableones with Jack Clark andChili Davis. He believesthere’s an unwritten codeof ethics among players, de-pending on how much ofthe plate the catcher givesand the situation in thegame.

“It’s just like breakingup a double play and whatthe guidelines are,” Scios-cia said. “Running into acatcher, the catcher’s goingto stay there and try toblock the plate, which youhave the right to if you’refielding the ball. And therunner obviously has aright to dislodge it.”

Those lines can often bemurky.

Cousins, for instance,scored the winning run ina crucial game against thedefending World Serieschampions Wednesdaynight. He might have hadroom to slide and avoid hit-ting Posey, but that’s a

split-second decision andalmost impossible to dis-cern in the moment.

The only collision Arizo-na manager and formerWorld Series star Kirk Gib-son had in his career cameagainst Pat Borders on Ju-ly 9, 1995. Gibson remem-bers the two almost collid-ed at the plate the day be-fore except Borders movedup and allowed him to slidein safely at the last second.

“He told me the next dayhe didn’t sleep because hechickened out,” Gibsonsaid. “A day later we hadthe same play, he stood inthere and I pounded him.”

The brunt of the blowdoesn’t always fall on thecatcher either.

After all, the runner isthe one not wearing protec-tive gear. And sliding in-stead of colliding offers noguarantees — Texas slug-ger Josh Hamilton, last sea-son’s AL MVP, broke hisright arm April 12 on aheadfirst slide into home atDetroit.

“What do you want themto do? Make guys wear ten-nis shoes? It’s a MajorLeague Baseball game,”Red Sox manager TerryFrancona said. “What doyou want them to do?Sometimes guys break updouble plays, sometimesyou gotta try to score. No-body wants to see anybodyget hurt, but you got toplay the game.”

Florida Marlins’ Scott Cousins, top, collides with San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) on a fly ball from Emilio Bonifacio duringthe 12th inning of a baseball game in San Francisco Wednesday. Cousins was safe for the go ahead run and Florida won 7-6.

Photo by Jose Sanchez | AP

Calling for collision protectionBy ANTONIO GONZALEZ

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

Dear Readers: One ofmy assistants recently res-cued a sweet female CHI-HUAHUA named Daisyfrom a city shelter. Hereare some things you maynot know about Chihua-huas:

Dressing your Chi-huahua may be necessary— they are more sensitivethan most breeds to coldweather. (Even in the sum-mer, air conditioning maybe drafty and could makethe dog cold.)

They are tiny dogs;many don’t exceed 6pounds. They may besmall, but some can have abig personality!

The dog probablyneeds food that is cutsmaller than regular drydog food, since theirmouths are very small andtheir teeth are not big.

Life expectancy?There are lots of variables,but most small breeds ofdogs can live more than 10to 15 years.

Always research anybreed before you adopt,and make sure the animalwill fit in with your family.Check your shelters andrescue groups for animalsin need of a great home. —Heloise

PET PALDear Readers: Marilu of

Titus, Ala., sent in a pic-ture of her 18-month-olddachshund mix, Terra,chewing on a rawhide. Ter-ra is very brave and willride anything with a mo-tor: ATV, tractor or boat.She has her own flotationdevice! To see Terra andour other Pet Pals, go towww.Heloise.com and clickon “Pets.” — Heloise

EXERCISE TIMEDear Heloise: I have a

funny schnauzer story foryou. I do exercises every

day, so when I am on thefloor on my back doing leglifts, my little Mitzi flopson her back and just wig-gles and wiggles her wholebody. It’s hilarious! Thefirst time I saw her do it, Ithought it was just coinci-dence, but now every timeI get ready to do my exer-cises, I tell her to come onand let’s do our exercises,so she runs in and doesher thing while I am doingmine. Just thought youmight like a little“schnauzer humor.” — Bevfrom Kerrville, Texas

HOT DOGSDear Heloise: Summer

is coming soon, but manystates are warm year-round. Please advise yourreaders not to leave theirpets in their cars whilethey shop, not even for acouple of minutes. This isso harmful to the pets — itcan cause death and dam-age to internal organs, in-cluding their brains.

I cannot believe peoplewho go into a store andleave anywhere from oneto four dogs in a lockedcar. Oh, they say that theywere only gone a few min-utes. I have sat andwatched dogs, left in vehi-cles with windows downan inch, bark and get ex-cited by folks going by.This will not cool a vehi-cle. People who leave petsin a vehicle should sit in alocked car with the win-dows down an inch or twoin the summer for a good10 to 15 minutes! Spreadthe word: SAVE A LIFE. —Mary McNeely, via email

HINTS BY | HELOISE

“HELOISE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011

PARIS — If CarolineWozniacki truly was tornup inside about her latestloss at a Grand Slam tour-nament, she certainly hidit well.

Wozniacki smiled andshrugged while deflectingquestions about being No.1 in the rankings despitenever having won a majortitle. Her wait for a break-through was extended Fri-day, when she was beaten6-1, 6-3 by 28th-seeded Da-niela Hantuchova of Slo-vakia in the third roundof the French Open.

After the match, Woz-niacki was consoled byher father. She said hetold her: “The world stillgoes on, and we still havethe next tournament nextweek. There is nothingyou can do about it now,so just don’t beat yourselfup too much.”

Wozniacki’s early exitcame a day after No. 2Kim Clijsters was elimi-nated by 114th-rankedArantxa Rus, marking thefirst time that the top twoseeded women failed tomake the round of 16 atany Grand Slam tourna-ment in the Open era,which began in 1968. Itnever had happened at theFrench Open since it be-gan admitting foreign en-trants in 1925.

Add that to the absenc-es of the Williams sisters,who are sidelined byhealth issues, and there isa real lack of star powerin Paris now.

“Kim had a tough loss

yesterday; I had a toughloss today. That’s whathappens,” said Wozniacki,a Dane who reached No. 1in October and has beenthere every week but onesince then. “Since we’reNo. 1 and 2, it means thatwe must be doing some-thing right. It’s just unfor-tunate to lose in a GrandSlam, but that’s what hap-pens, and we just need tomove forward.”

Hantuchova explainedthe surprises this way: “Itjust shows how strongwomen’s tennis is at themoment. It’s very open.”

As if to prove thatpoint, another FrenchOpen title contender, 2010runner-up and 2009 semifi-nalist Sam Stosur of Aus-tralia, was beaten 6-4, 1-6,6-3 by 51st-ranked GiselaDulko of Argentina. Butdefending champion Fran-cesca Schiavone of Italyadvanced when her oppo-nent, No. 29 Peng Shuai ofChina, stopped playing be-cause she has a cold andcouldn’t breathe properly.

The most anticipatedmatchup of the day didnot begin until early eve-ning — and did not finishFriday. Two-time Austra-lian Open champion No-vak Djokovic, who is on a41-match winning streak,was tied at a set apiecewith 2009 U.S. Open cham-pion Juan Martin del Po-tro when play was sus-pended at 9:15 p.m. be-cause of darkness.

The second-seeded Djo-kovic won the first set 6-3,but No. 25 del Potro tookthe second by the samescore. Right after del Po-

tro held serve to even thematch, the chair umpireannounced play wouldstop for the day; there areno artificial lights on thecourts at Roland Garros.

Earlier, 16-time GrandSlam champion Roger Fe-

derer saved the only breakpoint he faced in a 6-1, 6-4,6-3 victory over No. 29Janko Tipsarevic of Ser-bia.

“I’m at peace with mygame right now. I’m phys-ically fine. I think I had a

good preparation, sothere’s no reason to getnervous,” said Federer,who hasn’t dropped a setheading into his nextmatch, against his 2008Beijing Olympics doublespartner Stan Wawrinka.

“I’m still in the tourna-ment. It’s always nice toadvance in the draw sowell, so quickly.”

Schiavone will play No.10 Jelena Jankovic of Ser-bia, who beat BethanieMattek-Sands of the Unit-ed States 6-2, 6-2. Hantu-chova, meanwhile, meetsNo. 13 Svetlana Kuznetso-va, who won the 2004 U.S.Open and 2009 FrenchOpen.

After defeating RebeccaMarino of Canada 6-0, 6-4,Kuznetsova was asked bya reporter to look aheadto facing Wozniacki,whose match against Han-tuchova was barely underway at the time.

The assumption wasthat Hantuchova wouldn’tpresent too much of achallenge, in part becauseshe entered the day 0-3against Wozniacki and 0-6against women rankedNo. 1. But the 5-foot-11Hantuchova, a semifinal-ist at the 2008 AustralianOpen and former top-fiveplayer herself, says she isa more mature player andperson at 28 than she wasat 20, when she famouslyfought tears while losing asecond-round match atWimbledon in 2003.

“I feel like the experi-ence is starting to pay off.I mean, I have beenaround for quite sometime. I know what to ex-pect in the big tourna-ments and I think I’mmuch more calmer than Iwas before,” she said. “It’sjust about putting it all to-gether and mentally beingreally strong on thecourt.”

No. 1 Wozniacki knocked off in ParisBy HOWARD FENDRICH

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki returns the ball to Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak during their second roundmatch of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on Wednesday.

Photo by Lionel Cironneau | AP

IRVING — JordanSpieth is going to be latefor his high school gradua-tion ceremony Saturday, ifhe makes it at all. Theteenager has anotherround of golf with PGATour players at the ByronNelson Championship.

For the second year in arow, the local Dallas ama-teur will make the cut atthe Nelson. He was at 3 un-der for the tournament af-ter a 2-under 68 in the sec-ond round Friday.

The ceremony for Dal-las’ Jesuit Prep’s graduat-ing class of 246 seniorsstarts at 4 p.m. Saturday, atan auditorium on the SMUcampus about 20 milesfrom TPC Four Seasons.

“Right after the round.... I’m going to shoot overthere is quickly as possi-ble,” Spieth said. “I don’tknow how long (gradua-tion) usually lasts.”

Since diplomas arehanded out in alphabeticalorder, the 17-year-oldSpieth (pronounced SPEE-th) figures that will at least

buy him some extra time. “Exactly,” he said, smil-

ing. “Should be at least anhour into it, be toward theend.”

After finishing in a tiefor 16th at the Nelson lastyear, and still within threestrokes of the lead after 10holes in the final round,Spieth received a sponsor’sexemption to play in thetournament again thisweek.

Spieth, a U.S. JuniorAmateur champion whoplans to attend the Univer-sity of Texas, had one ofthe larger galleries follow-ing him during the secondround Friday.

“I want to win,” Spiethsaid. “I’m confident. Stay-ing loose and seeing myfriends in the crowd andfeeding off the crowd helpsme.”

When Spieth finishedhis round early Friday af-ternoon, with a bogey atthe 411-yard No. 9 hole, hewas five strokes behindleader Ryan Palmer andtied for 10th place.

“To be on this stage as asenior in high school, at17, it’s impressive,” Palmer

said. “I’m starting to won-der if he’s thinking aboutfour years of college or justone year.”

Spieth’s tee time for Sat-urday was pending thecompletion of play by all153 golfers.

Since his breakthroughin last year’s Nelson,Spieth had played the TPCFour Seasons course threeor four more times. He al-so got to play anotherround with former Presi-dent George W. Bush, wholives in Dallas and hasworked with Spieth’s in-structor.

“If I remember right, hecame up to my dad and Iright when we got outthere and told us whatgame we were going toplay,” Spieth said. “Therewas no reason to holdback, because he came outcalling me names that Ishouldn’t mention.

“It was easy to have funwith him out there,”Spieth added. “Hopefullywe’ll get to go out thereagain. It was fun. Didn’tfeel like you were playingwith anyone extremely im-portant like he is, which is

cool.” Spieth had an opening 1-

under 69 at this week’sNelson that included adouble bogey and three bo-geys. On those same fourholes Friday, he had bird-ies on each of them. Thatincluded a 26-foot birdieputt at the 441-yard 12thhole after a double bogeythere Thursday.

He was 5 under beforetwo bogeys in his final fiveholes Friday, when windswere starting to gust toaround 30 mph.

While the pros mighthave the edge on experi-ence, Spieth has been ableto put his entire focus ongetting ready for this week.

“For me, I spent thewhole entire last monthpreparing for this, gettingout here and preparing mygame for this golf course.That’s a huge advantage,”Spieth said. “Whereasthese guys are traveling,you know, sometimes four,five weeks at a time, theyget worn out, maybe notplaying their best golf here.And I prepare just to playmy best golf for thisevent.”

Jordan Spieth leaves a putt short on the 16th green during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Fridayin Irving.

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

Spieth makes the cut at ByronBy STEPHEN HAWKINS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — Con-troversial new rules.Grumpy drivers. Back-room deals. Twitter feuds.Upstart outfits trying tomake a name for them-selves.

Is this IndyCar orNASCAR?

The lead-up to Sunday’s100th anniversary of the In-dianapolis 500 has taken apage from NASCAR’sunique mix of soap operaand speed. When teamowner Michael Andrettiisn’t taking heat for buyingRyan Hunter-Reay’s wayinto the race, his son Mar-co is being attacked for tak-ing to twitter to defend theold man.

Simona De Silvestro —arguably the best femaledriver in the series — ismaking fans say “Danicawho?” for her cheek-bitingtoughness as she tries todrive with two badlyburned hands. Unlikelypole-sitter Alex Tagliani isbreathing much-needed lifeinto a sometimes staid ga-rage with his blunt andheavily French-accentedhonesty.

And then there’s double-file restarts, implementedthis spring a year after itwas introduced by its stockcar brethren, the lateststep in what some puristsconsider the “NASCAR-ifi-cation” of open-wheel rac-ing.

The move was designedto create added drama asthe 33-car field thundersdown the front stretch to

take the green flag. Wheth-er it works on an oval re-mains to be seen, thoughthe across-the-board blow-back from the normallylaid-back drivers has beenconsiderable.

Tagliani calls it “a terri-ble idea.” Former 500 win-ner Dan Wheldon thinks itcould lead to the race “be-ing remembered for all thewrong reasons.” Defendingrace and series championDario Franchitti believesit’ll turn the 500 into a “lot-tery.”

Team owner Chip Ga-nassi understands the con-cerns. His advice? Get overit.

“I go back to when youwatch an NFL game andthen you watch a collegefootball game, it’s the samegame; they play by prettymuch the same rules,” saidGanassi, a three-time 500winner as an owner. “To acertain degree I think weneed to appeal to all auto-racing fans. When you’retrying to appeal to all auto-racing fans it has got tolook the same so theyknow what they’re lookingat.”

IndyCar CEO RandyBernard defended themove, arguing severalhigh-profile owners cameto him with the idea, notthe other way around.

“I’m talking to teamowners and drivers whohave won out there on thattrack many times, and theyalways say ‘We race to therules and what they told usto race to,”’ said Bernard,who recently completed hisfirst year on the job.

Jeff Belskus, right, president and CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speed-way, and Randy Bernard, CEO of IndyCar, talk before the start of aMay 15 practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at IndianapolisMotor Speedway in Indianapolis.

Photo by Darron Cummings | AP

A very NASCARIndianapolis 500

By WILL GRAVESASSOCIATED PRESS