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One of the most conservativeDemocrats in Congress has comeunder repeated fire from a FOXNews personality for his criti-cism of two retired generals’ as-sessment of border security.

The tough questioning Rep.Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, direct-

ed at Gen. Barry McCaffrey andMajor Gen. Bob Scales led to anangry denunciation by “On theRecord” host Greta Van Susterenof what she said were personalattacks. Days later, a Cuellarcampaign staffer sent an email tosupporters highlighting the criti-cism in a fundraising email.

That prompted a post on VanSusteren’s blog late last week ac-

cusing Cuellar, an outspokenBlue Dog Democrat, of trying to“leverage his bad behavior intogetting money.”

McCaffrey and Scales releasedan assessment of Texas bordersecurity in late September, spark-ing a round of media coverageand protests from elected offi-cials on the border, including La-redo Mayor Raul Salinas. Among

the report’s conclusions, the gen-erals found conditions in manyborder communities were “tanta-mount to living in a war zone.”

The report got new legs afterthe generals were called to testifybefore a House Homeland Securi-ty Oversight and InvestigationsSubcommittee.

That was where Cuellar ques-tioned the fundamental conclu-

sions of the report, pointing tolower murder rates in border ci-ties such as Laredo, El Paso andMcAllen than in Washington,D.C. and Baltimore. He alsoasked who was interviewed forthe report and what data wasused.

Scales said “maybe 30” people

THE BORDER

Cuellar, FOX News feudCongressman questions border security report; reporter fires back

By ANDREW KREIGHBAUM THE ZAPATA TIMES

See FEUD PAGE 9A

Five years of work finallycome to fruition this January.The Zapata County Technicaland Advanced Education Centeropens its physical and technolog-ical doors to area students forSpring 2012, its inaugural semes-ter.

Development of this multimil-lion dollar facility, located at thecorner of Highway 83 and 7thStreet, hasn’t always been easy,but to County Judge JosephRathmell, it was worth it.

“Looks like after all the workwe’ve done, it’s really comingaround,” he said. “We’re reallyexcited for the residents to havehigher educational opportunitiesin Zapata.”

At one point a project of Zapa-ta County Independent SchoolDistrict, the proposal that was tobecome ZTAC almost got nixedin 2006. In 2007, the Zapata Coun-ty Commissioners’ Court pickedit up and ran with it, said Pre-cinct 1 Commissioner Jose Vela.

“We decided it was somethingwell suited to the community.Students would be able to takeclasses without traveling,” saidVela.

The project then attracted $2.5million in grants: $1.5 millionfrom the U.S. Economic Develop-ment Administration, and anoth-er $1 million from a Texas ruraldevelopment initiative. Still, evenafter the facility was completed,one issue remained.

“We still needed to secure theinfrastructure to supply distancelearning,” Vela said. He creditedZTAC dean Dr. David Brownwith arranging a three-year fi-nancing arrangement with CiscoSystems. To come up with the

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Centerto openin 2012

By MIKE HERRERA IVTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See EDUCATION PAGE 9A

HELPING A CHILD WITH A WISH

Big Buck Country (KRRG FM-98.1) announcer Gill Ray interviews Daniel, a Make-A-Wish Foundation participant, during the Make-A-Wish Radiothon held at Mall delNorte on Friday.

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Two alleged Gulf Cartel lead-ers arrested last week in SouthTexas were most likely hidingout north of the border to avoidthe extreme violence caused bywarring cartels in Mexico, ana-lysts said.

These cartel capos are poten-tial gold mines of informationfor law enforcement, but theschisms they’re fleeing mayhave spilled into the U.S. in tworecent incidents, they said. Andthe demise of these bossesworks to the benefit of their op-ponents across the river.

Border Patrol agents onThursday arrested Eudoxio Ra-mos Garcia, 34, at a house inRio Grande City. Ramos is theGulf Cartel’s former plaza boss,or regional commander, for theMexican border city of MiguelAlemán, according to court doc-uments. He’d been living in theU.S. only for a few days, paying$500 to cross the border illegallybecause his visa expired, ac-cording to court documents.

The day before, agents nearthe river in Santa Maria arrest-ed Juse Luis Zuñiga Hernandezon a weapons charge. Court doc-uments don’t indicate his posi-tion within the cartel, but a for-

mer top official at U.S. Immigra-tion and Customs Enforcementsaid agents think Zuñiga was atone point the plaza boss for Ma-tamoros, across the Rio Grandefrom Brownsville.

“He’s a major player,” saidAlonzo Peña, ICE’s former depu-ty director. “I think he wouldcome across whenever thingsgot hot over there. … He hadseveral locations where he’d getrefuge, safe houses, but nothingpermanent here in the U.S.”

All this comes on the heels ofthe Oct. 21 arrest of Rafael Car-denas Vela, the 38-year-old neph-ew of jailed Gulf leader OsielCardenas Guillen and allegedly

an important player in the car-tel.

It’s common for people fromall walks of life in the border re-gion to move back and forthacross the river, and drug traf-fickers are no exception, saidScott Stewart, vice president oftactical intelligence for Austin-based global intelligence firmStratfor.

Narcos often flee to the U.S.when things get hot in Mexico,Stewart said, and right now theGulf Cartel is engaged in a warwith its former enforcers, theZetas, as well as dealing with in-ternal strife pitting two power-ful factions against each other.

MEXICO VIOLENCE

Feds arrest 2 alleged Gulf Cartel chiefsBy JASON BUCH

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

Saturday, Nov. 5A 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. Thepublic is invited, and admission is free.Donated books and magazines are ac-cepted. Call 722-1674 for more infor-mation.

The first-ever Laredo UFO Confer-ence will take place in Texas A&M In-ternational University’s Recital Hallfrom 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today. Regis-tration is $20 general admission ad-vanced purchase and $25 on the dayof the event. This conference is notrecommended for children youngerthan 13. For more information, contactMargarita Araiza at 727-0977 or marai-za@webbheritage.org or visit http://www.webbheritage.org/LaredoUFOCon-ference.htm.

The Juvenile Diabetes ResearchFoundation 2011 Hope Gala presentsCraig A. Meyer and the Rocket Band,an Elton John tribute band, from 6:30p.m. to 12:30 a.m. today at the LaredoCountry Club, 1415 Country Club Drive.Proceeds will benefit research to find acure for juvenile diabetes research. Forticket information, call Letty Garcia at712-2900.

The Texas A&M International Uni-versity Teachers’ Club will host “Satur-day Story Hour” today at the LaredoPublic Library main branch, 1120 EastCalton Road, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To-day’s story is “Reading.” “Saturday Sto-ry Hour” is for children ages 3-8. Chil-dren must be accompanied by anadult. For more information, contactSandra Garrett at 326-2678.

The fifth annual Veteran ServicesAwareness Fair is from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. today in the Billy Hall StudentCenter. More than 15 agencies will pro-vide information and assistance onprograms available for veterans fromWebb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg counties.Admission is free and open to the pub-lic.

The Girl Scouts will have “A dayof Girl Scouting” from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. today at the Laredo Girl ScoutService Center, 701 N. Stone Ave.Learn what the Girl Scouts are allabout. For more information, call 723-7251 or 723-2430.

Monday, Nov. 7Paralympic athletes from Brooks

Army Medical Center will demonstrateand discuss the benefits of adaptedsports at the Adaptive Sports Experi-ence from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. today inthe Texas A&M International UniversityKinesiology Convocation Building. Theevent is presented by Jennifer Cooper,United States Olympic Committee, Pa-ralympic Division; Jen Yung Lee, retiredU.S. Army, National Sled Hockey goal-keeper; and Kate Callahan, retired U.S.Air Force, National Field thrower. Formore information, contact Dan Latheyat 326-2892 or dlathey@tamiu.edu.

The Texas A&M International Uni-versity Rec Center will have free Fit-ness Nutrition Sessions on Mondaysfrom 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Room128. Sessions are open to the public.The nutritionist will provide presenta-tions, handouts and cooking demon-strations. Each class will offer optionalbody fat and body water percentagemeasurements. For more information,contact Denise Schuster at 326-3017or dschuster@tamiu.edu.

Tuesday, Nov. 8The TAMIU Small Business De-

velopment Center will host the Anato-my of a Business Plan workshop in Za-pata from 2-4 p.m. at the ZapataCounty Courthouse, suite 248. Fee forthe seminar is $20. To register, call956-326-2827 or email sbdc@ta-miu.edu.

Michael Shermer, the secondspeaker in Laredo Community College’sDistinguished Speaker Series, will ex-plore the weird and unexplained at6:30 p.m. today in the Guadalupe andLilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater,at LCC’s Fort McIntosh campus. Thepresentation is free and open to thepublic, but tickets is required becauseseating is limited. Tickets are availablenow on a first-come, first-served basisat the Office of Student Life at theFort McIntosh and South campuses.For more information on the series,contact the Office of Student Life at721-5179.

Wednesday, Nov. 9The United States section of the

International Boundary and WaterCommission will hold an informationalmeeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at theRoma Community Center, 502 6th St.Falcon Dam will be discussed. Themeeting is free and open to the public.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Nov. 5,the 309th day of 2011. Thereare 56 days left in the year. Areminder: Daylight savingtime ends at 2 a.m. Sunday lo-cal time. Clocks move backone hour.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On Nov. 5, 1911, aviator Cal-braith P. Rodgers arrived inPasadena, Calif., completingthe first transcontinental air-plane trip in 49 days.

On this date:In 1605, the “Gunpowder

Plot” failed as Guy Fawkeswas seized before he couldblow up the English Parlia-ment.

In 1811, El Salvador gave its“First Shout of Independence”against Spanish rule.

In 1911, singing cowboy starRoy Rogers was born LeonardSlye in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1940, President FranklinD. Roosevelt won an unprece-dented third term in office ashe defeated Republican chal-lenger Wendell L. Willkie.

In 1968, Richard M. Nixonwon the presidency, defeatingVice President Hubert H.Humphrey and American In-dependent candidate GeorgeC. Wallace.

In 1974, Ella T. Grasso waselected governor of Connecti-cut, becoming the first womanto win a gubernatorial officewithout succeeding her hus-band.

In 1985, Spencer W. Kimball,president of The Church of Je-sus Christ of Latter-DaySaints, died at age 90; he wassucceeded by Ezra Taft Ben-son.

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane(meh-EER’ kah-HAH’-nuh), theBrooklyn-born Israeli extre-mist, was shot to death at aNew York hotel. (Egyptian na-tive El Sayyed Nosair was con-victed of the slaying in federalcourt.)

In 1991, death claimed pub-lishing magnate Robert Max-well at age 68 and actor FredMacMurray at age 83.

In 2009, a shooting rampageat the Fort Hood Army post inTexas left 13 people dead; Maj.Nidal Hasan, an Army psychi-atrist, was charged with pre-meditated murder and at-tempted murder.

Ten years ago: HurricaneMichelle swept past the Baha-mas with 85 mile-an-hourwinds, flooding houses andcutting power. Roy Boulting,who with his late twin brother,John, produced some of post-war Britain’s most enduringfilms, died in Eynsham, Eng-land, at age 87.

Five years ago: SaddamHussein was convicted andsentenced by the Iraqi HighTribunal to hang for crimesagainst humanity. FormerTurkish Prime Minister Bu-lent Ecevit died in Ankara atage 81.

Today’s Birthdays: Ac-tress Elke Sommer is 71. Sing-er Art Garfunkel is 70. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 68.Singer Peter Noone is 64. Sing-er Bryan Adams is 52. ActressTatum O’Neal is 48. Actor SamRockwell is 43. Actor SamPage is 35. Actor Jeremy Lel-liott is 29. Rock musician Ke-vin Jonas (The Jonas Broth-ers) is 24.

Thought for Today:“Imagination is the only keyto the future. Without it noneexists — with it all things arepossible.” — Ida M. Tarbell,American journalist (1857-1944).

TODAY IN HISTORY

McALLEN — Federal prosecutors agreedFriday to look into a video that shows ajudge lashing his teenage daughter with abelt, a police chief said a day after author-ities said too much time had passed to con-sider state charges.

Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe said hediscussed the 2004 video of Aransas CountyCourt-at-Law Judge William Adams beatinghis then 16-year-old daughter with a prosecu-tor from the U.S. attorney’s Corpus Christioffice.

“There was nothing that we discussedbriefly this morning that to him would indi-cate there could be any federal involvement,but that he had seen the video and theywould look into it,” Jayroe said.

Hillary Adams, now 23, posted the clip on

YouTube last week that shows her fatherlashing her with a belt and trying to forceher to bend over her bed to be beaten despiteher pleas to stop. The clip had received morethan 4 million views by Friday.

U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman AngelaDodge said no federal charges had been filedFriday.

Aransas County District Attorney PatrickFlanigan said Thursday he would not pursuecharges against William Adams because thestatute of limitations on charges such as in-jury to a child expired after five years.

“I would expect that yeah, charges wouldhave been pursued but for the inability toproceed due to the statute of limitations,”Flanigan said Friday. “You know, whetherthat would have been a felony or a misde-meanor charge I can’t say, but I think therewould’ve been some action pursued.”

AROUND TEXAS

Hillary Adams, daughter of Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams, walks outside her mother’s home in Port-land on Wednesday. Adams says she feels some regret about posting online video of her father lashing her with a belt sever-al years ago, but that she hopes it forces him to get help.

Photo by Chris Sherman | AP

Feds to look at beatingBy CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Charges dropped againstfugitive in 4-decade case

HOUSTON — A Texas judgehas dismissed a murder chargeagainst an ailing elderly womanwho had been arrested by au-thorities last month after spend-ing four decades as a fugitive ac-cused of killing her husband bydousing him with hot grease.

The murder charge against 76-year-old Mary Ann Rivera wasdismissed on Friday by state Dis-trict Judge Mary Lou Keel.

Texas delays action onstem cell therapy rulesAUSTIN — The Texas state

medical board is delaying untilat least April a final vote on newstem cell therapy rules thatcould restrict or even block pro-cedures like the one Gov. RickPerry recently had on his achingback.

Its members voiced supportfor the changes Friday beforevoting to return next year totweak the proposed regulations.

The proposed rules require anaccredited body to review stem-cell procedures to ensure patientsafety. Such therapies would alsohave to be done by physicianswhile adhering to Texas and fed-eral laws. Procedures withoutthe review would be prohibited.

The Republican presidentialcandidate had stem cells takenfrom his fat and then grown in alab injected into his back andbloodstream during a July oper-ation fusing part of his spine.

Broker gets 17-yearsentence in fraud scheme

AUSTIN — The former CEOof a Texas-based investment firmwas sentenced to 17 years inprison Friday for a scheme thatused former NFL players to bilkhundreds of investors out ofmore than $50 million.

Kurt Branham Barton, the for-mer head of Triton Financial,was convicted in August on 39counts, including wire fraud andmoney laundering. The chargescould have carried up to life inprison.

Homeless baby taken fromOccupy Dallas camp

DALLAS — State child welfareofficials say they have taken a 9-month-old boy from his homelessparents at an Occupy Dallascamp.

Child Protective Servicesspokeswoman Marissa Gonzalessays the baby was taken intostate custody Thursday and hisparents, a homeless couple, werebeing interviewed.

Dallas man freed after 14years for sexual assaultDALLAS — A man who spent

14 years in prison for refusing toadmit he sexually assaulted hisstepdaughter was set free Friday.The case had been unravelingsince the victim recanted andformer prosecutors were accusedof withholding evidence.

State District Judge SusanHawk told Dale Lincoln Duke, 60,it was a “privilege” to releasehim.

— Compiled from AP reports

Tempers flare over 6 daysof Conn. power outagesHARTFORD, Conn. — Tem-

pers are flaring six days into anepic power outage that hasroughly 300,000 Connecticut cus-tomers in the dark after a North-east snowstorm.

Residents have been lashingout at the state’s largest utilityfor taking so long to restore elec-tricity after snow-laden branchesbrought down wires across theregion last weekend. ConnecticutLight & Power urges angry cus-tomers to stop threatening andharassing repair crews.

Stocks slide ahead ofconfidence vote in Greece

NEW YORK — Investors weretaking few chances Friday whilewaiting for a confidence vote inGreece on the country’s embat-tled prime minister. Stocks fellon concerns the country mightnot go through with an austerity

program needed to prevent a de-fault on its debt.

The Dow Jones closed down 61points Friday and fell 2 percentfor the week.

Europe’s debt problems werethe main focus for investors thisweek. Stocks plunged Monday

and Tuesday after Prime Minis-ter George Papandreou shockedinvestors with an announcementhe would put the country’s aus-terity plan to a public vote. Hebacked away from the plan, butinvestors are still unnerved.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Protesters participating in an Occupy Boston march display banners and a maskin front of the Statehouse in Boston on Wednesday. The march was held to pro-test the nation’s growing student debt burden.

Photo by Steven Senne | AP

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011 Zlocal PAGE 3A

Federal forces seizedapproximately 1.6 tons ofmarijuana in three dif-ferent seizures in a cou-ple of border towns overlast weekend, accordingto representatives of theProcuraduría General dela República or PGR,Mexico’s attorney gener-al, assigned to the Ta-maulipas state in Mexico,on Tuesday.

The first seizure oc-curred when Mexicantroops patrolled the vi-cinity of Calle Cuartanear Eulalio Gonzálezand Álvaro Obregón inthe Miguel Alemándowntown area, acrossfrom Roma. Soldiersfound a building withoutan address number andproceeded to check on it.

A PGR report statessoldiers found one bun-dle of marijuana in atrash can in that area. Afurther inspection of thelocation yielded 73 bun-dles with a green leafysubstance. The contra-band weighed approxi-mately 1,161.84 pounds.

Soldiers made a sec-ond seizure while patroll-ing during the day at aranch south of CiudadCamargo, the Tamauli-pas town that bordersRio Grande City. Troopsfound an additional253.53 pounds of marijua-na packaged in eightbundles spread in thebrush area of RanchoBuenavista in Comales.

Finally, troops seized2,105.41 pounds of mari-

juana hidden in an un-derground cave locatednear a baseball field inLos Guerra, a municipal-ity of Miguel Alemán. APGR report states ananonymous tip alertedsoldiers to the field. Fed-eral forces received re-ports of unknown menloading vehicles withmarijuana.

In total, authoritiesseized approximately3520.78 pounds of mari-juana. All contrabandseized was turned over tofederal officials for an in-vestigation.

Also on Tuesday, armypersonnel announcedthey rescued 15 kid-napped people in NuevoLaredo as part of Oper-ation Northeast, enforce-ment actions to deter or-ganized criminal activityin northern Tamaulipas.

On Oct. 31, troops pa-trolling near Privada Es-meralda arrested a man,alleged to be the stashhouse operator where 15Honduran nationals wereheld against their wills.Authorities did not iden-tify the alleged offenderon the report. They sayhe was turned over tofederal authorities forprosecution.

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

3 seizuresyield 1.6

tons of potBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

MEDINA ELECTRIC PROMOTES PROGRAMS FOR THE COMMUNITY

Courtesy photo

Jennifer Olson, left, and Michael Harkins, right, representatives for Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc., presented information about pro-grams the coop sponsors to the Zapata County Retired School Employees at the October meeting. At center is Dahlia Lopez, president ofthe retired school employees.

Beginning this spring,higher education is comingto the city of Zapata as La-redo Community Collegeoffers by teleconferenceseveral college-level aca-demic courses at the Zapa-ta County Technical andAdvanced Education Cen-ter.

These courses, whichare part of the core curri-culum for students whowant to earn certificates orassociate’s degrees at LCC,or a bachelor’s degree at auniversity, will be trans-mitted from LCC’s FortMcIntosh and South cam-puses to the ZTAC usingteleconferencing technolo-gy.

All of LCC’s core coursescan transfer to any Texascollege or university andmost other schools. Amongthe courses to be offeredare history, English, gov-ernment and math.

“For years, Laredo Com-munity College has provid-ed adult education, Englishas a second language andGED courses in Zapata. Weare pleased to extend thebenefits of a higher educa-tion to the citizens of Zapa-ta through this new anddynamic partnership with

the Zapata County Techni-cal and Advanced Educa-tion Center,” said DiannaMiller, LCC’s vice presi-dent for instruction.

The spring semester willbe Jan. 17 through May 4.Prospective students mustgo through LCC’s admis-sions process to be able toregister for the courses.

Advising is now availa-ble year-round, and onlineregistration through LCC’sPASPort system beganWednesday.

For more informationabout advising, call theStudent Success Center at721-5135. For informationabout admissions and reg-istration, call the Enroll-ment and Registration Ser-

vices Center at 721-5109.In addition to the tele-

conference courses, LCC’sContinuing Education De-partment plans to offersome courses to the resi-dents of Zapata throughface-to-face courses at theZTAC in the spring.

Courses in computersand certification for foodmanagement, occupationalsafety and hazardous mate-rials will be some of thetopics to be covered.

For more information,call the Continuing Educa-tion Department at theLCC South Campus at 794-4520.

(Monica McGettrick isthe public relations special-ist for LCC)

LCC to offer teleconferencingBy MONICA MCGETTRICK

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES “For years, Laredo Community College has providedadult education, English as a second language andGED courses in Zapata. We are pleased to extend thebenefits of a higher education to the citizens ofZapata through this new and dynamic partnershipwith the Zapata County Technical and AdvancedEducation Center.”LCC VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTRUCTION DIANNA MILLER

Free medical clinics forthe indigent will be heldthis week in Zapata and ElCenizo.

Registration for the clin-ics begins at 8 a.m. Mondayand runs through Friday atOur Lady of LourdesChurch Hall in Zapata.Registration for the El Ce-

nizo clinics, to be heldThursday and Friday, alsobegins at 8 a.m. at SantaMonica Mission.

Open to allThe clinics are open to

those who wish to receivemedical checkups, and den-tal, vision and spiritual

care, according to the Dio-cese of Laredo, which issponsoring the clinicsalong with Catholic SocialServices. The clinics willbe run by volunteers, in-cluding doctors and nurses,of the Medical Missionariesof Divine Mercy fromHouston-Galveston.

For more information,contact 956-722-2443.

Clinics for the indigentscheduled for next week

THE ZAPATA TIMES

In honor of VeteransDay, an effort to raiseawareness about the ac-complishments of woundedwarrior athletes and theoverall benefits of adaptedsports programs, TexasA&M International Univer-sity will host a variety ofevents on campus Mondayand Tuesday.

On Monday, TAMIU wel-comes guests from BrooksArmy Medical Center todemonstrate and discussthe benefits of adaptedsports programs at the“Adaptive Sports Experi-

ence” from 1:30 – 3 p.m. atthe Kinesiology Convoca-tion Building.

Physical educationteachers, school adminis-trators, fitness and sportsstudents, city officials andanyone interested in devel-oping an adapted sportsprogram are invited towatch accomplished Para-lympic athletes discuss thebenefits of developingadapted sports programs.

On Tuesday, TAMIU willhost a Veterans Apprecia-tion Breakfast, from 8:30 –10 a.m. in the UniversitySuccess Center, room 101.The breakfast is held tohonor TAMIU student vet-

erans along with faculty,staff and community veter-ans for their sacrifice toour nation.

Monday’s guests fromthe Brooks Army MedicalCenter will remain in Lare-do to present a screening ofthe award-winning docu-mentary “Warrior Cham-pions” at 7 p.m. in the Stu-dent Center Theater, room236. The award-winningdocumentary is a powerfulfilm that “tells the emotion-al and inspiring story of agroup of severely woundedAmerican soldiers as theyfight to turn nightmares ofwar into Paralympicdreams.” The event is free.

Events honoring vets scheduledSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

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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.

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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-

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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

Friday is Nov. 11 — Vet-erans Day. This year, it isalso a once-a-century nu-merical curiosity — 11-11-11. As fans of the film“This Is Spinal Tap” know,that makes it Nigel TufnelDay.

The movie is a spoofdocumentary — a “rocku-mentary” — about a ficti-tious heavy metal bandwhose claim to fame is itsloudness. In one memora-ble scene, Nigel, its slight-ly-addled lead guitarist, ex-plains the secret of theband’s legendary sound.

“The numbers all go to11,” Tufnel says, pointingto the knobs on an ampli-fier. “Right across theboard — 11, 11, 11.”

Most amplifiers only goup to 10. So does that meanthe amplifiers Spinal Tapuses are louder than thoseof other bands? “Well, it’sone louder, isn’t it?”

“This Is Spinal Tap” is afictional comedy. But Pres-ident Obama and Demo-crats in Congress have forthree years pursued a real-world 11-11-11 plan thatpays homage to Nigel’s

confused understanding ofacoustics, one that presum-es that if they can onlycrank the federal govern-ment up one louder, all thenation’s problems will besolved.

It began with the so-called economic stimulusof 2009, a $61 billion pro-posal that ballooned intoan $800 billion monstrosity— the largest spending billin history. Stimulus fansclaimed this unpreceden-ted volume of federalspending was critical tokeeping the unemploy-ment rate under 8 percent.That was at a time whenthe unemployment ratewas 7.8 percent. It went ashigh as 10.1 percent, andremains fixed at or above 9percent.

The stimulus never de-livered the jobs its sup-porters promised. It didgive a small group of peo-ple Internet access, at acost of $349,234 per house-hold. It did pay to giveiPods to every student andiPads to every teacher at aUtah high school. And itdid provide loan guaran-tees to a politically con-nected solar panel manu-facturer, Solyndra, which

recently went belly-upwith $535 million in tax-payer money.

Next came Obamacarein 2010, a massive federalintervention in the healthcare industry that ac-counts for about one-sixthof the nation’s gross do-mestic product. Again,government groupies saidthe $2.6 trillion health carebill was essential to reducecosts and, as the presidentpromised, would “lowerpremiums by up to $2,500for a typical family peryear.”

No surprise — exactlythe opposite is true. TheCenters for Medicare andMedicaid Services issued aforecast in July showinghealth care spending overthe next decade will ac-tually grow at a slightlyhigher rate than if the “re-form” plan had not passed,while the Kaiser FamilyFoundation’s annual sur-vey of insurance premi-ums found the cost forfamily plans had gone upby 9 percent from 2010,when Obamacare was en-acted, to 2011.

These two signature ac-complishments of Demo-cratic-controlled govern-

ment contributed to re-cord-setting outlays andrecord-setting deficits. Fed-eral spending has grownfrom 20.7 percent of grossdomestic product in 2008 to25.3 percent last year, itslargest share since the endof World War II.

During this time of eco-nomic austerity when ev-eryone — including gov-ernment — supposedly hasto tighten their belts, NigelTufnel Democrats continuetrying to turn the knobsup to 11. Federal spendingfor fiscal year 2011, at $3.6trillion, is still up 4 per-cent over 2010. And thepresident is seriously try-ing to force through a $447billion stimulus 2.0.

Where does it all end? Inthe real world, when youpush spending, deficitsand debt to record levels —11, 11, 11, right across theboard — the national fusesblow and the music ofprosperity ends. When itdoes, you’re left with acountry in fiscal crisis thatlooks a lot like Greece doestoday. But, as Nigel mightsay, ”That’s just nitpicking,isn’t it?”

(Email: jgurwitz@ex-press-news.net)

COLUMN

Solution is not more noiseBy JONATHAN GURWITZ

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Collaboration is aword that resonatesstrongly in the suc-

cess of any organizationwhether in the church orin the secular world.

In two days, I will wit-ness feats accomplished byindividuals collaboratingwith the Diocese of Laredoby choosing to do smallthings with great love.

By making the commongood a priority, hundreds ofpeople from Laredo and be-yond will succeed in ac-complishing a specificachievement.

Beginning Monday agroup of individuals,churches and businesseswill combine their effortsto help those in needthrough the second Dioceseof Laredo Catholic SocialServices Medical Missionin collaboration with theDivine Mercy Medical Mis-sionaries from Sugarlandto provide free medical,dental and vision care.

This year the missionwill be held at the San LuisRey Parish Hall in Laredo,at Our Lady of LourdesParish in Zapata and atSanta Monica Mission inEl Cenizo.

Undoubtedly, a lastingimpression will be left inthe hearts of those servedby the genuine offerings ofthese amazing doctors, den-tists, nurses and caregiv-ers.

During this challengingeconomic climate, individu-als and families of meagermeans find it difficult to ac-cess quality healthcare.

The third annual Medi-cal Mission spans five daysand helps those most inneed with health check-ups, oral hygiene care andcountless additional servic-es — all free of charge.

In the spirit of generos-ity and collaboration, agroup of doctors, dentists,pharmacists, nurses, assist-ants and volunteers fromLaredo and Houston willdedicate their time, talentsand treasure for this week-long free health clinic.

The Medical Missionar-ies of Divine Mercy fromSugarland travel to Laredoand collaborate with Catho-lic Social Services in orderto attend to the medicalneeds of people in our com-munity.

This group of medicalpractitioners gives willing-ly and unselfishly. Each ofthese healthcare profes-sionals funds their trip byunderwriting every costimaginable for an endeavorsuch as this.

One doctor will go as faras to close his Sugarlandpractice for the week andto pay for his entire staff toaccompany him on thisjourney of goodwill andcare.

This special project

helps realize a dreamthat began last year forthe staff of the Dioceseof Laredo Catholic So-cial Services.

This is somethingmore than just a medi-cal mission. BeginningMonday, the MedicalMission will start with aMass, followed by thedoctors attending to thevisual, dental and medi-cal needs of our people.

In addition to the dai-ly Mass, every day willbegin and end with aprayer session in whichthe healthcare profes-sionals thank God forthe gifts and abilities be-stowed upon them,which can be of benefitto the physical well-be-ing of the patient.

The concern for theindividual’s physicalhealth is also matchedwith a genuine concernfor the individual’s spir-itual well being.

Every evening of theweek, a spiritual mis-sion will also be held toinclude Holy Mass andan opportunity for con-fession as well as recep-tion of the Sacrament ofthe Anointing of theSick.

Every night will bespent praying for lovedones troubled in mind,body and spirit.

This, too, is a reflec-tion of the spiritual fo-cus the Medical Mis-sionaries of Divine Mer-cy and the Diocese ofLaredo Catholic SocialServices maintain. Whatthese people do flowsfrom their love of Godand their love of neigh-bor. The spiritual mis-sion reminds everyonethat it’s just as impor-tant to have a healthysoul as it is to have ahealthy mind and body.

This endeavor oncemore elevates the spiritof hope that all thingsare possible throughGod and when we col-laborate together.

This, too, reminds meof the words our LordJesus said, “For wheretwo or three are gath-ered together in myname, there am I in themidst of them” (Mat-thew 18:20).

And He is among uswhen we witness Hiscompassion, mercy andlove in all those whowill give of their time,talents and treasure.May the Divine Physi-cian’s healing touch befelt. Todo Con Amor.

COLUMN

Mission to helpthose with

medical needs

“JAMES TAMAYO

Michael Morton wasset free last month afterspending 25 years in aTexas prison for a murderhe did not commit. Mor-ton would still be lan-guishing behind bars hadhis lawyers not discov-ered new DNA evidencethat incriminates a manwith criminal convictionsin several states.

The extraordinary out-come of the Morton caseand the pivotal roleplayed by DNA evidenceappear to have gone unno-ticed by a different set ofTexas prosecutors —those handling the case of

Henry W. Skinner, who isscheduled to be executedNov. 9.

Skinner was convictedin 1995 of murdering hisgirlfriend and her twogrown children. But keypieces of evidence werenot tested. Skinner ar-gued that testing this evi-dence could prove anoth-er man committed thecrimes. The state courtjudge overseeing the caseshould put the executionon hold and order thetesting. We oppose capitalpunishment, but for allanyone knows, the resultscould prove that Skinneris guilty. The state shouldwant this proof before itputs a man to death.

EDITORIAL

Let DNA decideTHE WASHINGTON POST

Congress rarely remem-bers that it is responsiblefor overseeing the FederalElection Commission —the party-hack-ridden agen-cy that enables campaignabuses. The House elec-

tions subcommittee hasnow summoned commis-sion members to a rarehearing about its work.Rather than a grilling, it’smore likely to be a meet-and-greet smile among pro-fessional backslappers.

The need for a vigilantFEC has never been great-

er as the nation enters themost money-drenched cam-paign in history, thanks tothe new “super PAC” bun-dlers and the SupremeCourt’s Citizens United de-cision blessing unlimitedcorporate donations.

Congress should be re-forming the agency and

President Barack Obamashould be challenging Con-gress to do it. The FECneeds commissioners whodon’t owe their positions toeither party. The presidentcan drive the issue by pro-posing independent appoin-tees to the Senate to re-place lame-duck members.

Election agency needs reformNEW YORK TIMES

ZAPATA COUNTY RECYCLING DEPARTMENTis NOW Accepting Plastic, Aluminum Cans &

Tin Cans. NO Glass Containers

Drop Off at 2505 North U.S. Highway 83Between the hours of 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Monday through Friday

NO DUMPING AFTER HOURS!

For more information, call 765-5679

This is A Volunteer BasisLet’s Save Our Landfill!

The Recycling Department Has Collected$21,454.55 and 262,248 Pounds of

Cardboard For This Last Year!

ASSAULTDeputies went out to a

fight in progress at 1:20a.m. Oct. 30 at the AquaRestaurant & Bar, 178 S.U.S. 83. On arrival, a 21-year-old woman said Yese-nia Esquivel had assaultedher. Esquivel, 27, was citedfor assault.

An assault family vio-lence incident was reportedat 11:23 p.m. Monday in the1600 block of Third Street.

BURGLARYA woman called depu-

ties at 8:24 a.m. Oct. 28 inthe 1400 block of ThirdStreet in the Medina Addi-tion. An incident reportstates the offender stole acar radio.

A burglary of a habita-tion was reported at 2:53a.m. Oct. 30 in the 200 blockof Irene Drive.

CELL PHONEINCIDENT

A lost/stolen cellphone report was filed at9:22 p.m. Monday at theParadise Amusement Cen-ter on U.S. 83.

EGGED VEHICLEA woman called depu-

ties at 2:43 p.m. Mondayfrom the 100 block of SantaMaria Avenue to reportthat her vehicle was eggedby a person she knows.

EVADING ARRESTAlberto Javier Garcia,

18, was arrested andcharged with evading ar-rest with a motor vehicle inthe vicinity of MoralesRoad at about 6 a.m. Oct. 30.In addition, Garcia wasserved with a warrantcharging him with posses-sion of a controlled sub-stance. The man was heldon a $30,000 combined bondat the Zapata Regional Jail.

POSSESSIONA juvenile was found

in possession of marijuanaat about 7:45 p.m. Mondayin the 200 block of MangoDrive. The alleged offenderwas turned over to the juve-nile probation office.

RECKLESS DRIVERClarissa Marlen Mu-

ñoz, 26, was arrested andcharged with reckless driv-ing at about 3:45 p.m. Oct.31 in the 2000 block of Ken-nedy Street. The womanwas taken to the ZapataCounty Jail and held on a$5,000 bond.

THEFTA representative of

South Texas Wellhead Ser-vices, 3042 U.S. 83, reportedat 7:42 p.m. Oct. 29 that

equipment was stolen fromthe oil field yard.

A man reported at 5:15p.m. Monday in the 2200block of Carla Street thatsomeone stole some tires.

UNAUTHORIZED USEOF VEHICLE

Clarissa Anne Garcia,23, was arrested andcharged with unauthorizeduse of a red 2000 GMC Jim-

my at approximately 2:20p.m. Oct. 29 near ThirdStreet and Bravo Avenue.The woman was taken tothe Zapata County Jail,where she was held on a$5,000 bond.

THE BLOTTER

A ranch owner was infor a scary surprise on AllHallows’ Eve when hefound a black bag full ofmarijuana.

Deputies responded to acall at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday ata ranch located in the out-skirts of the town of Zapa-

ta, south of Texas 16.According to Sgt. Mario

Elizondo, an anonymoustipster led deputies to ablack bag that was appar-ently abandoned.

Elizondo said the bagcontained small cellophane-wrapped packages contain-

ing the contraband. The ap-proximate weight of the potwas 13 pounds. The mari-juana had a street value of$6,500. An investigation isongoing.

(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

This bag found on a ranch Tuesday contained about 13 pounds of marijuana, authorities said.

Courtesy photo

Rancher finds bag of pot

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

PAGE 6A Zentertainment SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

Believers and skepticsalike are invited to the in-augural Laredo UFO Con-ference taking place todayat Texas A&M Interna-tional University’s Fineand Performing Arts Cen-ter. Presenters at the all-day conference include Is-mael Cuellar, founder ofthe Laredo ParanormalResearch Society.

Perhaps best known forits investigations into re-putedly “haunted” locales,the society also uses itsmilitary-grade equipmentand scientific methodolo-gy on the South Texasnight skies. Even thoughthey’ve seen and photo-graphed objects with theirnight vision cameras,Cuellar remains a skeptic.

“I don’t think I’ve seenaliens,” he said. “That’snot the point. We’ve seenand recorded something.What is it? We don’t jumpto any conclusions.”

Adding that the groupdefers to this empiricalskepticism in its “haunts”as well, Cuellar said hewants his findings to bescrutinized.

“I’ve always said, ‘Don’ttake my word for it.’That’s why (on ghost expe-ditions) we invite peopleto use our equipment, seeour process.”

He maintains, however,that he and his partnershave seen something.They’ve got the pictures toprove it.

“We have a Power-

Point,” he said of his con-ference-opening presenta-tion. “We’re going to talkabout some of the findingsand experiences. We’d liketo show the instrumentswe use.”

With their night visionbinoculars, the group hasseen what Cuellar calls“mystery lights” —spheres hovering in thenight sky. He said they’reonly visible with the nightvision equipment and un-detectable to unaided eyes.

“They stay for some-times three minutes,sometimes five. Thenthey’re gone,” he said.

Such phenomena arethe bread and butter ofNoe Torres, director of theMutual UFO Network forSouth Texas. Torres is anauthor of seven books andhas appeared on The His-tory Channel’s “UFO Hun-ters.” Most of this expo-sure has centered on acase he says has undulybeen overshadowed by thefamous Roswell incident.

“There was a reportedcrash retrieval in 1948,about 30-40 miles south,southwest of downtownLaredo,” Torres said.“This was in July, almostone year after the Roswell

case. Roswell has alwaysbeen better known be-cause of all the media at-tention. But there were alot more witnesses (to thecrash near Laredo).”

Torres will deliverthree different presenta-tions Saturday, each onedealing with one of hisbooks. The first one he’llpresent, “Fallen Angel:UFO Crash near Laredo,Texas,” began germinat-ing as he wrote a priorbook dealing with a crashnear Del Rio.

“We were going to in-clude a section on Laredo,but due to space con-straints, it had to be takenout,” he said.

Torres’ 2008 book “TheOther Roswell” presentsthe eyewitness testimonyof retired Colonel RobertB. Willingham of the U.S.Air Force Reserve. Ac-knowledging how ColdWar tensions set the back-drop for the UFO sight-ings of the 1950s, the bookcontains images of sec-tions from the EisenhowerBriefings of November1952. According to UFOlore, these documentswere originally designatedonly for the “Majestic 12”organization. Only this

legendary cabal was sup-posed to know about thedowned ET vessels on theTexas-Mexico border.

Whether the Majestic 12or the crashes were realor not, Torres explainswhy Northern Mexico haslong been a hotbed of al-leged UFO activity.

“It makes sense. You’vegot clear skies. The craftscould move undetected be-cause the Mexican airforce doesn’t have blanketsurveillance over the skiesthere.”

As he communicatesregularly with Mexicanufologists, Torres, muchlike Laredo’s Cuellar,keeps a level head.

“Our motto is scientificinvestigation of empiricalphenomena,” he said. “Wewant to explore all possi-ble real-world explana-tions first.”

Perhaps ironically, thisconference of the paranor-mal and, to some, thepseudoscientific comes toLaredo thanks to an or-ganization dedicated topreserving very real histo-ry.

The Webb County Heri-tage Foundation cospon-sors the conference withthe Paranormal Society.

It’s just the latest in thegrowing partnership be-tween the two.

“It grew out of ourHaunted Heritage exhib-its,” Margarita Araizasaid of the foundation’s at-tention to UFOs. The foun-dation went so far as toadd a replica of the report-ed 1948 crash site near La-redo to its Haunted Heri-tage exhibit in the BorderHeritage Museum down-town. To Araiza, the foun-dation’s executive director,ghost and UFO stories areas legitimately a part ofthis region’s heritage asits mainstream history.

“Obviously this touchesa nerve,” she said.“There’s so much inter-est.”

Also scheduled to ap-pear is Travis Walton,whose alien abductionsstory formed the basis ofthe movie “Fire in theSky.” A screening of themovie is scheduled for 4:30p.m., and Walton will dis-cuss his experiences at7:30 p.m.

Tickets to the confer-ence are $25 ($30 for pre-ferred seating). For moreinformation, contact theWebb County HeritageFoundation at 727-0977 orwww.webbheritage.org.

The conference beginsat 10:30 a.m. today and hassessions all day. It con-cludes with a book sign-ing featuring Torres andWalton at 9 p.m. Lunchand dinner will be served.

(Mike Herrera IV canbe reached at 728-2567 ormherrera@lmtonline.com)

UFOs topic of today’s conferenceBy MIKE HERRERA IV

THE ZAPATA TIMES “I don’t think I’ve seen aliens. … That’s not the point.We’ve seen and recorded something.”LAREDO PARANORMAL RESEARCH SOCIETY FOUNDER ISMAEL CUELLAR

Gym rats are invited todrop the dumbbells and trysome outdoor exercise to-day as the Big River Foun-dation hosts the Rey DelRio Race.

“The idea is to get peo-ple already active in Lare-do out to try somethingnew,” said Carla Echavar-ria, event coordinator andtour guide for Big River.She’s quick to point outthat this event is not justfor hard bodies.

“It’s aimed at them, butit’s not just for them. Any-one can join. It won’t bethat competitive.”

The race will follow thesame course as the commu-nity race put on as part oflast month’s Rio Fest. Kay-akers, who can race aloneor with a partner, will startat Father McNaboe Parkand end eight miles later atthe riverbank near down-town.

“It could take an hourand a half to finish if youdon’t stop paddling,” Echa-varria said.

Events of this type repre-sent just a small portion ofwhat Big River does. Theorganization also provideseducational excursions andresearch opportunities forlocal schools, all part oftreating this generation’s“nature deficit disorder,” asChairman Stephen Kaczorcalls it in an article fromLatin American Investor.The article highlights BigRiver’s multidisciplinarywatershed ecology efforts,which go well beyond Lare-do.

The organization cur-rently works to raiseawareness of CentralAmerica’s last remainingkingdom, the Tjër Di Naso.This indigenous Panama-nian tribe depends on theRio Teribe, but a three-damproposal by a Columbianenergy company threatensthe Naso’s way of life. BigRiver is helping produce adocumentary on the tribeand its current predica-ment.

Though many mighttake it for granted, Laredostill has a river to enjoy,and Echavarria encouragesthe fitness-minded to dojust that.

“Go outside the gymwalls. It’s good exercise. It’sfun and relaxing at thesame time.”

Registration for the ReyDel Rio race is $30 per per-son, which includes thekayak rental. Anyone inter-ested can call Eric Ellmanat 236-4985. The race startsat noon, but participantsare encouraged to meet atFather McNaboe Park asearly as 10:30 a.m. forwarm ups and preliminaryinstruction. A free barbe-cue will follow the race.

(Mike Herrera IV can bereached at 728-2567 ormherrera@lmtonline.com)

Kayakraces

start atnoonBy MIKE HERRERA IV

THE ZAPATA TIMES

LAS VEGAS — A SanDiego woman who claimspop star Justin Bieber fa-thered her son has a courtdate in Las Vegas on alle-gations she slapped an ex-boyfriend.

Records show 20-year-oldMariah Yeater faces abench trial Dec. 12 on amisdemeanor charge thatcould get her six months injail and a $1,000 fine.

A police report says Yea-ter slapped her 18-year-oldex-boyfriend Dec. 21. Thetwo were arguing about abroken window.

Womanon trial

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZAPATA11/07— Del 7 al 11 de

noviembre se ofrecerán Ser-vicios Médicos gratuitos parapersonas de bajos recursoseconómicos por parte de laBrigada de Médicos Misione-ros de la Divina Misericordia,auspiciados por la Diócesisde Laredo y Servicios Socia-les Católicos en instalacionesde la Iglesia San Luis Rey,3502 Sanders. Registro de 8a.m. a 11 a.m. y de 4 p.m. a6 p.m. Los servicios seráncontinuos de 8 a.m. a 6p.m. Se darán servicios simi-lares en El Cenizo, Río Bravoy Zapata. Más informaciónllamando al 722-2443.

NUEVO LAREDO11/05 — Maratón de

Inscripciones en UniversidadTECMilenio (boulevard Fun-dación Longoria Wright # 9)de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m., con ex-posición de talleres extra-académicos, final del TorneoCopa Coca-Cola y bonifica-ciones disponibles.

11/06 — Grupo de Tea-tro Expresión invita a “ParaMorir Nacimos” a las 7 p.m.en el Teatro Lucio Blanco dela Casa de la Cultura. Guiónde Luis Martín con textos deSabines, Villaurrutia y Coros-tiza. Invitado especial “Gru-po de Danza Cuicoyán”. En-trada libre.

11/08 — Primer Aniver-sario de las “Mina de pala-bras” de 5 p.m. a 8 p.m. enEstación Palabra. El ColectivoPoético Cien Años de Sole-dad y colaboradores presen-tarán sus números de ani-versario.

11/09 — Cine Club “Ele-na Garro” presenta “El Jine-te Eléctrico” a las 6 p.m. enel Auditorio de Estación Pa-labra. Entrada gratuita. Fun-ción dedicada a la Asocia-cion Protectora de Animalespor lo que se solicita acopiode alimento, periodico y artí-culos de limpieza.

SÁBADO 5 DE NOVIEMBRE11/05 — Primera Confe-

rencia OVNI de Laredo enTAMIU, patrocinada por laFundación de Tradiciones delCondado de Webb, presen-tando una conferencia con laSociedad de InvestigaciónParanormal de Laredo y lapelícula “Fire in the Sky”acerca del supuesto secues-tro (por OVNIS) de TravisWalton. El mismo Walton es-tará presente para relatar suexperiencia. Costo: 25 dóla-res y 30 dólares para asien-to preferencial. No se reco-mienda a niños menores de13 años. Eventos inician des-de las 9:30 a.m. y concluyenhasta aproximadamente las10 p.m. Informes enwww.webbheritage.org.

11/05 — Hoy es laQuinta Feria Annual de Ser-vicios a Veteranos de EU enLaredo Community College,de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. en elBilly Hall Student Center, enel Campus del Sur. Se solici-ta a veteranos llevar su For-ma DD-214. Entrada gratuitay abierta a todos los vetera-nos, incluyendo miembrosactivos de los condados deWebb, Zapata, y Jim Hogg.

11/05 — Desfile de exAtletas de LISD, antes delinicio del partido anual Mar-tin HS-vs-Nixon HS, en elComplejo Deportivo Shirley,2002 avenida San Bernardo.El desfile será a las 6:15p.m. El partido a las 7 p.m.Durante el medio tiempo se-rá la ceremonia de dedica-ción del complejo deportivo.Más información en el 273-1220.

11/05 — La Fundaciónpara la Investigación de laDiabetes Juvenil presentaGala de Esperanza 2011 conla música de Craig A. Meyerand the Rocket Band, un tri-buto a la banda de EltonJohn, de 6:30 p.m. a 12:30a.m. en Laredo CountryClub, 1415 Country Club Dri-ve.

Agendaen Breve

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 5 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2011

SAN FERNANDO, Méxi-co — Una caravana de fa-miliares de migrantes quehan desaparecido en Méxi-co rumbo a Estados Unidosllegaron a mediados de se-mana conmemoraron elDía de los Muertos en estemunicipio.

El grupo de 30 familiaresde migrantes centroameri-canos elevaron una oraciónpor las 193 personas quefueron exhumadas de fosas

clandestinas en abril. Secree había migrantes entreellos.

Aunque la mayor parteconsideran que sus pa-rientes no quedaron ahí enesas fosas, piden por las de-más familias que si perdie-ron a hijos, padres, esposos

en esos ataques. Además delas víctimas halladas en lasfosas, 72 indocumentadosfueron asesinados en unrancho de San Fernando,en Tamaulipas, en agostode 2010.

El 2 de noviembre, pa-trullas de la policía estatal

recibieron a la caravana ylos escoltaron hasta el eji-do.

Eiman Vázquez Médina,un sacerdote que acompa-ña a la caravana desde queingresaron a territoriomexicano por Tapachula,Chiapas, leyó textos de la

Biblia e hizo una oraciónen la bodega donde fueronacumulados los cuerpos lo-calizados el abril pasado.

“Los invité a reflexionary a elevar una oración”, di-jo Vázquez Medina.

La caravana comenzó enla frontera con Guatemalay planea recorrer nueve delos 32 estados del país antesdel 13 de noviembre.

El INM señaló que el flu-jo declinó en un 70%, al pa-sar de 433.000 retenidos enel año 2005 a 140.000 en2010.

TAMAULIPAS

Migrantes oran por sus muertosPOR EFRAIN KLERIGAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS “Los invité a reflexionar y a elevar una oración”SACERDOTE EIMAN VÁZQUEZ MÉDINA

“Guerrero Viejo:Viejo Guerre-ro” es el

nombre que lleva un librode la autoría de EverardoCastro Medellín donde através de imágenes y tex-tos se brinda, como él mis-mo dice, un “tributo a unpueblo que se sacrificó así mismo para diseminarvidas a su alrededor”.

El 29 de octubre el li-bro, escrito en 2010, fuepresentado en el Centrode las Aves en Roma, Tex-as.

“Guerrero Viejo: ViejoGuerrero” muestra el tra-bajo y esfuerzo de CastroMedellín, quien dedicómás de 5 años de su vida yde su patrimonio, para verconcretados los esfuerzosen este libro que estoy se-guro ocupara un lugarmuy significativo en labibliografía del norestemexicano.

Escrito con un lenguajesencillo, claro y literariorescata los valores y cos-tumbres de su gente, noslleva de la mano en un re-corrido por calles empe-

dradas y ruinas que se re-sisten a caer, recopilaanécdotas leyendas y mi-tos que han pasado degeneración en generación,que nos hablan de los ava-tares de sus habitantes pa-ra defender su tierra y suintegridad, batallas con-tra la adversidad de lanaturaleza: huracanes, he-ladas, inundaciones, altastemperaturas, o bien porla intervención de la ma-no del hombre, comoataques de los indios, ro-bos incendios y la con-strucción de una Presa enharás de un progreso quenunca llegó.

El libro nos da un pano-rama de los dos Guerrerosel Nuevo y el Viejo, de sustres asentamientos, par-

tiendo del Rancho los Mo-ros hasta el lugar que hoyocupa a la vera de la Pre-sa Falcón, recordándonosel valor de sus héroes co-mo Antonio Zapata, losHermanos Gutiérrez deLara, o filántropos comoJosé María González Be-navides quien heredo sufortuna para la educacióny ayuda a los mas necesi-tados.

Desenvuelve a manerade pergaminos imágenespanorámicas de la NuevaCiudad, paisajes inolvida-bles que se rematan con elazul turquesa del Lago dela presa Falcón.

Así como los trabajosmas recientes de restaura-ción del Antiguo Parián.

A través de mis casi 20

años de haber visitado porprimera ocasión GuerreroViejo y quedar cautivadopor sus ruinas, he conoci-do gente, ya sea origina-rios de Guerrero o bienemigrantes. ActualmenteGuerrero Viejo vive gra-cias a sus muertos, a todaesa gente que como unadiáspora regresan de lu-gares muy lejanos a susdos camposantos que losarraiga a la tierra.

Amaneceres y puestasde sol sirven de escenarioal gran milagro de la vi-da, al capturar con sucámara imágenes de laflora y fauna formando unescenario natural que ha-cen de este sitio un lugarmágico, mirar los pelíca-nos levantar el vuelo

sobre la ruinas de la ciu-dad, es algo que nunca ol-vidaras.

“Guerrero Viejo: ViejoGuerrero” no solo es unaporte a la historiografíade la región, también esun invaluable rescate yrestauración de imágenesfotográficas del pasado,que se sumarán a la foto-teca del Archivo Históricodel Municipio y al Archi-vo General e Histórico deTamaulipas.

“Guerrero Viejo: ViejoGuerrero” es uno de los li-bros más cuidados y bel-los en su impresión y con-tenido, que se hayan escri-to sobre el pueblo. Sucontenido a través de másde 291 hojas aportan nue-vas luces sobre el quehac-er cotidiano, de esa gene-ración que le tocó nacer yvivir y pasar por el tragoamargo del traslado a unanueva ciudad.

Solo me resta invitarlosa que lean el libro y seconviertan en unos pro-tectores y seguidores delPueblo que se negó a mo-rir.

(Carlos Rugerio Cázareses Jefe del Archivo Generale Histórico de Tamaulipas)

LIBRO ‘GUERRERO VIEJO: VIEJO GUERRERO’

Imagenes de Guerrero Viejo que pueden admirarse en el libro “Guerrero Viejo: Viejo Guerrero”, en recopilación hecha por Everardo Castro Medellín.

Foto de cortesía | Everardo Castro Medellín

RETRATAN ‘PUEBLO QUE SE NEGÓ A MORIR’POR CARLOS RUGERIO CÁZARES

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

A partir de esta primav-era, la educación superiorllega a Zapata cuando La-redo Community Collegeofrezca por medio de tele-conferencia varios cursosacadémicos de nivel cole-gio en el Zapata CountyTechnical and AdvancedEducation Center (Centrode Educación Técnica yAvanzada del Condado deZapata — ZTAC).

Estos cursos, que son

parte de un currículo pa-ra estudiantes que deseanobtener un certificado ogrado asociado en LCC,y/o un grado de bachilleren una universidad, serátransmitido desde loscampuses Fort McIntosh ySur de LCC al ZTAC uti-lizando la tecnología deteleconferencia.

Todos los cursos enLCC pueden ser transfer-idos a cualquier colegio ouniversidad de Texas y ala mayoría de las otras es-cuelas. Entre los cursos a

ser ofrecidos se encuen-tran historia, inglés, go-bierno y matemáticas.

“Durante años, LaredoCommunity College haotorgado educación paraadultos, inglés como se-gundo idioma y cursos deGED en Zapata. Nos senti-mos orgullosos de exten-der los beneficios de unaeducación superior a losciudadanos de Zapata através de esta nueva y di-námica sociedad con elZapata County Technicaland Advanced Education

Center”, dijo Dianna Mill-er, vice presidenta parainstrucciones en LCC.

Además de los cursospor teleconferencia, el De-partamento de EducaciónContinua de LCC pretendeofrecer algunos cursos di-rectos a residentes de Za-pata en el ZTAC durantela primavera.

Cursos en computacióny certificación para mane-jo de alimentos, seguridadocupacional (OSHA) yHazMat son algunos de lostemas que serán cubier-

tos.El semestre de primave-

ra 2012 será del 17 de en-ero al 4 de mayo. Estu-diantes que deseen partic-ipar deben utilizar elproceso de admisiones deLCC para poder inscri-birse a los cursos.

Las asesorías ya estándisponibles para todo elaño, y se pueden inscribiren línea utilizando el sis-tema PASPort.

Más información lla-mando al 721-5135, 721-5109o al 794-4520.

EDUCACIÓN

LCC dará cursos por teleconferencia POR MONICA MCGETTRICK

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES Nation SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

Mark Kelly. But Giffords herself deliversthe last chapter — a single page of shortsentences and phrases called “Gabby’sVoice” in which she says her goal is to getback to Congress.

“I will get stronger. I will return,” shewrote.

The book also reveals that the couple,who got married in 2007, was trying tohave a baby. Giffords, 41, had undergoneseveral rounds of fertility treatments inthe last few years and had hoped to getpregnant early in 2011.

The book does not say whether Giffordswill seek re-election next year. Kelly saidthe couple did not want to rush a decision.The deadline to formally declare her in-tentions is in May.

Aides have repeatedly emphasized thather focus is on recovery and that there isno timetable for making a decision abouther political future. The Arizona Demo-crat was shot just days after being swornin for her third term.

Giffords stunned colleagues by appear-ing on the House floor Aug. 1 to vote forthe debt ceiling deal, but she has largelyavoided the public eye, spending most ofher time at TIRR Memorial Hermann, arehabilitation center in Houston.

PHOENIX — When President GeorgeH.W. Bush came to visit her in the hospi-tal, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could say only“Wow!” and another word she had beenuttering frequently at the time, “chicken.”

Months later, when she was shown pho-tos of famous people to see if she recog-nized faces, Giffords looked at ArnoldSchwarzenegger and replied, more or lessaccurately: “Messin’ around. Babies.”

These and other details emerge in anew book written by Giffords and her hus-band that offers the most personal look yetat her slow, agonizing recovery after beingshot in the head at point-blank range.

The memoir, titled “Gabby: A Story ofCourage and Hope,” describes Giffords’ ef-forts over the past 10 months to relearnhow to walk and talk, and her painful dis-covery that six people were killed in theJan. 8 attack outside a Tucson grocerystore.

The Associated Press purchased an ad-vance copy of the book, which is set for re-lease Nov. 15.

The book is written from the perspec-tive of her husband, former astronaut

Some Democrats had hoped that Gif-fords would use her newfound fame to runfor the Senate seat being vacated by Re-publican Jon Kyl. But a Democratic strate-gist said Giffords has told Democrats inArizona that she will not seek a Senateseat. The strategist spoke on condition ofanonymity because he was not authorizedto discuss her plans.

In the memoir, Kelly recounts trying totell his wife several times that she hadbeen shot while meeting with constituents.But she didn’t fully understand untilMarch 12.

Kelly asked Giffords if she rememberedbeing shot, and she replied that she did,although he said it was hard to know ifshe really did. She described what she re-called with three words: “Shot. Shocked.Scary.”

Later that day, Kelly told her that sixother people had been killed. Giffords wasovercome with emotion and had troublegetting through her therapy.

It wasn’t until July, weeks after beingreleased from the Houston hospital to Kel-ly’s home 25 miles away, that she learnedwho had been killed: a staff member, a fed-eral judge, a 9-year-old girl and three otherpeople Giffords did not know.

Book gives look at Giffords’ recovery

This image provided by Scribner shows the coverof the joint memoir of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords andher husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, titled“Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.” The book,written with "The Last Lecture" co-author JeffreyZaslow, is coming out on Nov. 15.

Photo by Scribner | AP

By AMANDA LEE MYERS AND MICHELLE PRICEASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — One ofHerman Cain’s accusers al-leged “several incidents ofsexual harassment” in aformal complaint morethan a decade ago, her law-yer disclosed Friday, a freshallegation that could com-plicate the Republican pres-idential hopeful’s deter-mined bid to lay the politi-cally explosive controversyto rest.

The lawyer, Joel Bennett,said his client — marriedthen and now — accepted afinancial settlement in leav-ing her job at the NationalRestaurant Associationshortly after lodging thecomplaint against Cain,who was then the tradegroup’s head. Bennett didnot name the woman, whohe said stands by her alle-gations and has decided not“to relive the specifics” ofthe incidents in a public fo-rum.

Cain, who tried to returnto normal campaigning Fri-day, has repeatedly deniedever sexually harassinganyone. His spokesman,J.D. Gordon, said in re-sponse to Bennett’s com-ments, “”We’re looking toput this issue behind usand focus on the real is-sues, which are fixing thisbroken economy, puttingAmericans back to workand strengthening nationalsecurity.”

Apart from disclosingthat his client alleged morethan one incident, Bennett’sremarks added little of sub-stance to a controversy thaterupted nearly a week ago.

“She made a complaintin good faith about a seriesof inappropriate behaviorsand unwanted advancesfrom the CEO” of the res-taurant organization, hesaid.

In a statement late in theday, Dawn Sweeney, thetrade group’s current CEO,said Cain had disputed theallegations at the time theywere made. She also said

the organization was will-ing to waive a confidential-ity agreement the womansigned when she left herjob, a concession that aspokeswoman later saidwould not necessarily applyto any other former em-ployee.

Cain has contended aninternal investigation at thetime of the complaintshowed no evidence of im-proper conduct by him, butSweeney did not addressthat issue.

Bennett’s comments toreporters outside his law of-fice came as Cain was mak-ing a concerted effort toshow he would no longer al-low the controversy to dom-inate his unlikely challengefor the GOP presidentialnomination.

The candidate drewcheers of support Fridayfrom conservative activistsas he delivered a speech fo-cused on the U.S. economy.He is trying to convert his

meteoric rise in opinionpolls into a campaign or-ganization robust enough tocompete with Mitt Romney,Rick Perry and other rivalsin early primary and cau-cus states.

In an appearance beforethe Americans for Prosper-ity Foundation, the careerbusinessman pitched histrademark 9-9-9 economicprogram and referred onlyelliptically to the controver-sy that has overshadowedhis campaign in recentdays. “I’ve been in Washing-ton all week, and I’ve at-tracted a little bit of atten-tion,” he said to knowinglaughter from his audience.

Not everyone soundedready to let it fade.

In Georgia, the state par-ty chairwoman, Sue Ever-hart, said, “I think he hasto completely put it behindhim or it will continue tobe a problem. He’s got to dothe housekeeping dutiesand clean this up.”

Cain accuser: ‘Several’harrassment incidents

By KASIE HUNT AND LAURIE KELLMANASSOCIATED PRESS

Joel Bennett, an attorney for a woman who accused Herman Cainof sexual harassment, said she complained about a “series of inap-propriate behaviors” in good faith and accepted a financial agree-ment.

Photo by Jose Luis Magana | AP

ATHENS, Greece —Greek Prime MinisterGeorge Papandreou sur-vived a confidence voteearly today, calming a re-volt in his Socialist partywith a to step aside if nec-essary and seek a cross-party government lastingfour months to safeguarda new European debtagreement.

Papandreou won theparliamentary confidencemotion 153-145 after aweek of drama in Athensthat horrified Greece’sEuropean partners,spooked global marketsand overshadowed theGroup of 20 summit inCannes.

The threat of a Greekdefault or exit from thecommon euro currencyhas worsened the conti-nent’s debt crisis, whichis already struggling un-der bailouts for Greece,Ireland and Portugal.

Finance Minister Evan-gelos Venizelos, whowarned that the debt-rid-den country still faced“mortal danger,” said thenew government would

last until the end of Feb-ruary.

But conservative oppo-sition leader AntonisSamaras demanded im-mediate elections. He didnot say whether he wouldjoin coalition talks, due tobe formally launched lat-er today when Papandre-ou meets the country’spresident.

“The masks have fall-en,” Samaras said. “Mr.Papandreou has rejectedour proposals in their en-tirety. … The only solu-tion is elections.”

Midway through itsfour-year term, Papandre-ou’s government cameunder threat after his di-sastrous bid this week tohold a referendum on amajor new European debtagreement. The idea wasswiftly scrapped Thurs-day after an angry re-sponse from markets andEuropean leaders whosaid any popular vote inGreece would determinewhether the countrywould keep its cherishedeuro membership.

They also vowed towithhold a critical 8 bil-lion euro installment ofloans from an existingbailout deal that Greece

needs urgently to staveoff an imminent and cata-strophic default.

Papandreou’s shockreferendum gamble, andthe hostile internationalresponse, horrified manyof his own party stal-warts. It prompted anopen rebellion with se-nior Socialists sayingthey would only back theconfidence vote if hepledged to seek a cross-party coalition with amandate to secure thenew debt deal and the dis-bursement of the nextbailout loan installment.

Struggling to face downthe revolt, Papandreou in-sisted his only prioritywas to save the country.He insisted he was notconcerned with retainingthe premiership, butwarned that electionsnow would have been“catastrophic,” jeopardiz-ing Greece’s continuedbailout funding, the newdebt deal and the coun-try’s euro membership.

He sought the vote ofconfidence “to safeguarda steady course for thecountry — with no powervacuum, without beingdragged to election,” hesaid.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, center, is congratulated by his Socialist party’s ministersand lawmakers after a confidence vote at the parliament in Athens on Saturday.

Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis | AP

Greek chief wins voteBy DEREK GATOPOULOSAND ELENA BECATOROS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Manuel David Jasso, 74,passed away Sunday, Oct.30, 2011, at Doctor’s Hospi-tal in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Jasso is preceded indeath by his father, Ceci-lio Jasso; daughter MirtaA. Jasso-Solis; son Joa-quin Jasso; sister SylviaRosario Jasso; and abrother-in-law, Calixto Ro-driguez Jr.

Mr. Jasso is survived byhis wife, Gilda Elena Jas-so; sons Cecilio (Tomasa)Jasso, Manuel D. Jr.(Be-len) Jasso and Martin(Enedina) Jasso; daugh-ters Rosa (Homar) Solis,Rosario (Fabian) Solis,Monica (Cesar) Solis, Nin-fa Jasso and Gilda (Jose)Prieto; mother, Ninfa G.Jasso; sisters Lucia Rodri-geuz, Guillermina (Lauro)Coronado, San Juana(Jose L.) Guzman, MariaD. Valadez and Coly (J.D.)Beeson; grandchildren:Erica (Salvador A.) Eli-zondo, Arminda (Ken-neth) Grant, Michelle(Gerald) Nieto, Joni Solis,Enrique “Buddy” Solis Jr.,Cecilio Jasso Jr., Joaquin(Tracy) Jasso, Erik Jasso,Alva Jasso, Cindy (Allen)Nuñez, Homar Jr. (Arace-li) Solis, Joey Solis, Jessi-ca Solis, Hector Solis, Vir-ginia Solis, Manuel D. III(Lisette) Jasso, Amy Jas-so, Osvaldo Jasso, PaolaM. Jasso, Jorge J. (Johida)Jasso, Selina (Tony) Ace-vedo, Crystal (Richard)Fantini, Martin (Madel-lein) Jasso, Nancy Jasso,Eva Jasso, Marimar Jas-so, Myrna Elena Solis, Ce-

sar Solis Jr., Jose F. (Seli-na) Cruz, Araceli Bena-vides, Javier Jasso andLarissa Jasso; and great-grandchildren; as well asother family membersand friends.

Visitation hours wereheld Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011,from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. witha rosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.

The funeral processiondeparted Wednesday, Nov.2, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. for a 3p.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal ser-vices followed at ZapataCounty Cemetery.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonza-lez, funeral director, 2102Highway 83, Zapata, TX.

MANUEL DAVID JASSO

Committal services fol-lowed at Zapata CountyCemetery.

Condolences may besent to the family atwww.rosegardenfuneral-home.com.

Funeral arrangementsare under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,

funeral director, 2102 High-way 83, Zapata, TX.

(Roberto) Gonzalez and Ro-salinda M. Saenz; nieces:Sandra L. Medina andTannia L. Medina; nephew,Jose Luis Bello Jr.; lifelongfriend, Rocio Ochoa; andby numerous other rela-tives and friends.

Visitation hours wereFriday, Oct. 28, 2011, from 6p.m. to 9 p.m. with a ros-ary at 7 p.m. at Rose Gar-den Funeral Home.

The funeral processiondeparted Saturday, Oct. 29,at 8:45 a.m. for a 9 a.m. fu-neral Mass at Our Lady ofLourdes Catholic Church.

Maria Teresa Medinapassed away Wednesday,Oct. 26, 2011, at LaredoMedical Center in Laredo,Texas.

Ms. Medina is precededin death by her mother,Hortencia Medina; andbrothers Jose Luis Belloand Carlos Daniel Merca-do.

Ms. Medina is survivedby her brothers Jesus (Ma-ria) Bello, Juan A. (Wendi)Mercado, Lauro S. Merca-do, Jose Daniel Mercadoand Romeo (Claudia) Mer-cado; sisters: Rosalva M.

MARIA TERESA MEDINA

Raul Navarro, 68, passedaway Oct. 24, 2011, at RioGrande Regional Hospitalin McAllen, Texas.

Mr. Navarro is precededin death by his daughterRossy Mendoza; brothersFernando (Beatriz) Navar-ro, Santiago Navarro, Bal-domero Navarro and Pe-dro Navarro; and sisters:Adelina N. Cacique andSylvia N. Ramirez.

Mr. Navarro is survivedby his sons: Jose AntonioNavarro, Gregorio Raul(Myrna) Navarro, JorgeLuis (Elena) Navarro,Juan Manuel (Griselda)Navarro, Dagoberto (Anto-nia) Navarro, Jesus Gua-dalupe Navarro and NoeNavarro; daughter DoraAlicia (Miguel) Torres;and a brother ZaragozaNavarro; and by numerousother relatives and friends.

Visitation hours wereheld Thursday, Oct. 27,2011, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.with a wake at 7 p.m. atRose Garden FuneralHome.

The funeral processionwas on Friday, Oct. 28,2011, at 9:45 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral Mass at Our

Lady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal servic-es followed at ZapataCounty Cemetery.

Condolences may besent to the family atwww.rosegardenfuneral-home.com.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 High-way 83, Zapata, TX.

RAUL NAVARRO

were interviewed over fourmonths.

During one exchange,Cuellar asked whether ornot the generals were paidan $80,000 fee to producethe report.

McCaffrey asked wheth-er Cuellar was suggestingpolitical or monetary moti-vations were behind thereport.

“If you are, sir, that is ashameful comment,” hesaid during the hearing.

The report was commis-sioned by Texas StateAgriculture CommissionerTodd Staples, who has re-cently signaled interest inhigher office. Staples an-nounced this spring heplanned to run for lieuten-ant governor, a race stillmore than two years away.

Cuellar declined in aninterview to say whetherhe believed the report orits conclusions were politi-cally motivated. But hesaid it was his job as anelected official to stand up

for the area. “If anybody is going to

make a harsh conclusionabout the border, calling ita ‘war zone,’ then theyshould back it up,” hesaid.

During an Oct. 17 broad-cast in which Scales ap-peared as a guest, Van Sus-teren called out Cuellarand Rep. Silvestre Reyes,D-El Paso, for “unbelieva-bly rude” treatment of theofficers.

“There is somethingthere,” she said in thebroadcast. “I don’t knowthe magnitude, but toshow the disrespect of twopeople who had gone downthere and studied withothers is just extraordin-ary.”

Scales, a regular FOXcontributor, said the con-gressman may have beenmotivated in part by“chamber of commercespeech.”

Days later, Jessica Her-nandez, a finance assistant

for Texans for Henry Cuel-lar, emailed supportersthat Van Susteren and thegenerals had launched anattack on the congress-man’s integrity. She askedreaders to help Cuellarend the “lies and distor-tions” of border violenceby donating.

Hernandez said the crit-icism from FOX has not af-fected the campaign. How-ever, she said the emailhas generated some contri-butions for the campaign.

“It did, it did help some-what,” she said.

The email prompted VanSusteren last week towrite that the generalswould take the congress-man “to the woodshed” onleadership.

Cuellar is no dove onborder security spending.He has worked with Rep.Michael McCaul, R-Austin,to secure two unmannedaircraft to patrol the Texasborder. The second dronewas announced last week.

Yet he drew a clear line be-tween himself and Repub-lican colleagues on bordersafety issues.

Bill Miller, an Austin-based political consultantand lobbyist, said the high-profile spat was a positivemove for Cuellar.

“Not every campaigngoes out to pick a beefwith a national news or-ganization to raise mon-ey,” he said. “He jazzed uphis support base is whathe did.”

Cuellar holds what looksto be one of the safest seatsin Congress. But besidesproviding a short-termfundraising boost, Millersaid attacking the idea of awar-torn border enhancesCuellar’s national image.

“What this exchange hasdone is promoted him, andhis career, and his visibil-ity,” Miller said.

(Andrew Kreighbaummay be reached at 728-2538or akreighbaum@lmton-line.com)

FEUD Continued from Page 1A

down payment, the countydecided to raise revenuefrom what some considera controversial segment ofthe local economy: game-of-chance amusement cen-ters.

According to Vela, theseamusement centers, collo-quially known as maquin-itas, operated under littleregulation and few taxesin Zapata County. Thecourt passed an ordinancerequiring the maquinitasto register with the tax of-fice and taxing them $500per machine per year. Thefirst year after the ordi-nance passed, the countycollected $600,000 in newtax revenue, most of whichit set aside for ZTAC’s dis-tance learning infrastruc-ture.

“We thought it was anappropriate way to raisemoney for educationalpurposes,” said Vela.

Workers begin unload-ing the new equipmentMonday.

This increased techno-logical capacity arrivesjust as four educational in-stitutions released theirnear-finalized Spring 2012ZTAC course offerings.

Texas A&M Internation-al University, for example,plans to offer continuingeducation workforce pre-paredness courses startingin January. By Fall 2012, ithopes to offer a bachelorof arts in applied sciences,85 percent of which a stu-dent can complete in Zapa-ta.

A tentative schedule forthe degree includes fresh-man-level math, historyand English courses. Stu-dents with sophomorestanding might be able totake a behavioral scienceor a government course,both of which were al-ready taught at ZTAC dur-ing the summer. Since thetechnology wasn’t ready,faculty in the flesh taughtthese courses in Zapata,including Brown.

“The discussions we hadwith that group during thesummer, I’ll tell you, wereon par with discussionyou’ll see at (the Universi-ty of Texas,” said Brown,“but the ones I really wantto reach out to are theones in remediation.”

Brown said careful re-mediation for at-risk stu-dents is a priority forZTAC, as is career retool-ing. One of its academicpartners, Texas StateTechnical College, is offer-ing courses related to theenergy industry. The Lare-do extension of the Univer-sity of Texas Health Sci-ence Center-San Antonioplans to offer courses forthe medical industry.

Plans are in the worksfor ZTAC to supplementtwo other industries im-portant to Zapata, includ-ing law enforcement andhospitality.

The fourth original aca-demic partner, LaredoCommunity College, is set

to offer core curriculumacademic courses thisspring.

“We are pleased to ex-tend the benefits of highereducation to the citizens ofZapata,” said Vice Presi-dent for Instruction Dr.Dianna Miller in a pressrelease.

As usual, the LCC corecourses offered at ZTACwill be transferable to TA-MIU, added Brown.

To register for ZTACclasses, prospective stu-dents need to first gothrough the institutionfrom which they want totake the course.

“While the classes willbe in Zapata, the studentsmight have to travel toLCC or TAMIU for admis-sions and registration pro-cedures at this point,”Brown said.

Anyone interested incourse information is en-couraged to call the schoolfrom which they want totake a course.

EDUCATION Continued from Page 1A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

PALATKA, Fla. — In thissleepy, riverside town in north-east Florida, 86-year-old BettyWills sees the advertisements ofobstetricians and gynecologistson the main road’s billboards andhas found specialists rangingfrom cardiologists to surgeons inthe phone book.

But there’s not a single geria-trician — a doctor who specializ-es in treating the elderly — in allof Putnam County, where a fifthof the county’s 74,000 people areseniors.

“I looked,” Wills said. “I didn’tfind one.”

It’s a nationwide shortage andit’s going to get worse as the 70million members of the baby-boom generation — those now 46to 65 — reach their senior yearsover the next few decades.

The American Geriatrics So-ciety says today there’s roughlyone geriatrician for every 2,600people 75 and older. Without adrastic change in the number ofdoctors choosing the specialty,the ratio is projected to fall toone geriatrician for every 3,800older Americans by 2030. Com-pare that to pediatricians: thereis about 1 for every 1,300 Amer-icans under 18.

Geriatricians, at their best, aremedicine’s unsung heroes. Theyunderstand how an older per-son’s body and mind work differ-

ently. They listen more but arepaid less than their peers. Theyhave the skills to alleviate theirpatients’ ailments and help themlive fuller, more satisfied lives.

Though not every senior needsa geriatrician, their training of-

ten makes them the bestequipped to respond when an old-er patient has multiple medicalproblems. Geriatricians have ex-pertise in areas that general in-ternists don’t, including thechanges in cognitive ability,

mood, gait, balance and conti-nence, as well as the effects ofdrugs on older individuals.

But with few doctors drawn tothe field and some fleeing it, thedisparity between the number ofgeriatricians and the population

it serves is destined to grow evenstarker.

“We’re an endangered spe-cies,” said Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, arenowned geriatrician at MountSinai Medical Center in NewYork.

Geriatricians rank among thelowest-paid medical specialties,with a median salary of $183,523last year, according to the Medi-cal Group Management Associ-ation, which tracks physicianpay. That sounds like a lot, butmany other specialties pay two orthree times more, while the aver-age doctor graduates with$160,000 in student loan debt.

Just 56 percent of first-year fel-lowship slots in geriatrics werefilled last academic year, accord-ing to a University of Cincinnatistudy, while the number of physi-cians on staff at U.S. medicalschools’ geriatric programs hasgenerally been decreasing.

Many young doctors aren’t re-ceiving even basic training incaring for older patients. Only 56percent of medical students hadclinical rotations in geriatrics in2008, according to the study.

Various efforts around thecountry have aimed to increaseboth those choosing the geria-trics specialty and the level oftraining all doctors get in treat-ing older patients.

The federal health overhaullaw also includes a number ofprovisions aimed at increasinggeriatric care.

Aging boomers showing geriatrics shortageBy MATT SEDENSKYASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Oct. 7 photo, Dr. Brian Kiedrowski, right, walks with patient Victoria Cohen, 100, in Miami. The baby boomers’ en-trance into old age is casting light on the drastic shortage of medical professionals trained to treat the elderly.

Photo by Alan Diaz | AP

LAVACA, Ark. — Walk-ing into the Military RoadMuseum in Lavaca is likepassing through a time por-tal of the early days of theeastern Sebastian Countytown.

A 115-year-old pea sheller,about the size of an air con-ditioner, is on display. A lo-cal family built it all thoseyears ago after seeing aphoto of one in a magazine.It was too expensive to buy,so after studying the photo,

a Lavaca resident built it. Itstill works, said JackJames, the museum’s cura-tor.

Information about Lava-ca businesses from the1800s is stored at the mu-seum as well as bricks fromsome of those old buildings.Photographs, artifacts andantique tools are some ofthe business-related items.

A powder horn, whichlooks like a hollowed-outgourd, that carried gunpow-der most commonly in 18th-century muskets, is anotherarrangement museum vis-

itors may explore.Historical information

about most of the localchurches is on hand, too.

One section of the mu-seum is dedicated to theTrail of Tears history. Allfive civilized tribes marcheddown Military Road duringthat era, according toJames. Tribal shirts, arrow-heads, pottery and bead-work are other AmericanIndian artifacts housed atthe museum.

Some items are donatedto the museum while othersare on loan from families

who are not sure whetherthey want to permanentlypart with their historicalitems.

One complete side of themuseum is dedicated to lo-cal school sports history. In-formation from 1915 to pre-sent is on display, Jamessaid.

An Edison victrola and apump organ from the 1840s,which still works, are otheritems with Lavaca ties.

A coverlet hand stitchedby a local slave is one of theonly items related to theblack history in Lavaca.

James has been trying tofind someone who will pro-vide information about theblack school — Red Oak —from Lavaca’s history. He’shad no luck so far.

James, the museum cura-tor, is a social studies teach-er in the Lavaca School Dis-trict, a member of the Lava-ca City Council, and also isthe president of the LavacaChamber of Commerce.

The museum was found-ed by Woody Green in the1990s to protect and pre-serve the history of hishometown of Lavaca. Start-

ing out in a borrowed roomin the Lavaca School Dis-trict, the collections soonoutgrew the one roomwhere it was housed.

The city of Lavaca agreedto allow the museum to behoused at 303 Main St., inthe former Dayton BrewerDrug Store building, saidJames. Each year, the cityalso provides a smallamount of funding for thebuilding’s utility bills.

Any other funding forthe purchase of frames anddisplays comes from dona-tions.

Military Road Museum tells history with artifactsBy AMY SHERRILL

SOUTHWEST TIMES RECORD

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

There is purity about middleschool sports and the expecta-tions that come with coaching atthat level.

Zapata has seen success athigh school level thanks to itsgreat middle school programs in-stilling the winning mind setand giving its athletes a littletaste of success before they headto Zapata High.

For proof, look no furtherthan the football program, thevolleyball program, and thecross country program — all ofwhich have become a force inDistrict 32-3A.

Their accolades include twodistrict titles, a runner-up title,playoffs and a trip to regionaland state.

The coaching staff at ZapataMiddle does a fantastic job inpreparing its athletes to take thenext step to the next level with-out skipping a beat when theycome in as freshman to ZapataHigh.

Recently, the 8th grade volley-ball team, coached by Ana Villar-real, was crowned district cham-pion. An honor sure to breedmore success for the LadyHawks volleyball team for yearsto come.

Villarreal is one of the mostintense coaches, bringing out thebest out of her team by demand-ing perfection every time theyhit the court.

Athletes like Brandi King,Kristina De Leon, Shelby Biglerand others on the list that couldgo on forever all went throughteams that Villarreal coachedand have gone on to star at Zapa-ta High.

King was named MVP, andthis year De Leon and Biglerhave put up MVP seasons oftheir own.

How about the cross countryteams? The 7th and 8th gradeboys and girls came home withfirst and second place at the dis-trict meet thanks to the efforts ofcoaches Amanda Perez and Lau-ra Villarreal.

Perez and Villarreal are con-stantly making sure the teamsare ready to put their best per-formance forward, laying thefoundation for a great crosscountry program at the highschool, including a few state run-ners.

The cross country teamsseemed to always come out ontop as a force to be reckoned.

These coaches work hard justlike their high school counter-parts, but they often don’t thepublicity or even an acknowledg-ment of their role as developersof athletes.

The glory isn’t the same, butneither are the pressures.

I started out as a middleschool coach and worked my wayup to the varsity level during mycoaching days, understandingthat by moving up the ladder, re-sponsibility and the pressures al-so increased.

The same expectations I hadfor my 7th grade team, I had formy varsity team a few years lat-er.

While coaching at the 7thgrade level right out of college, Ihad a parent tell me that all Ithought about was winning.

“If winning was not importantthen why do they keep score,even in a middle school basket-ball game?” I responded. “If win-ing was not important then theyshould play for 30 minutes, noscore and then just go home.”

Don’t get me wrong this is thetime to instill the fundamentals— the reasoning why you preachand teach the game — but if you

COMMENTARY

Growingfrom themiddle

See SANDOVAL PAGE 2B

The Zapata Lady Hawksknow the stakes when they takethe course this afternoon at theregional cross country meet inSan Antonio.

After making several trips tothe state meet — four in a row— the Lady Hawks are vying toreturn to a place they’ve calledhome for many years: the Texasstate meet.

All that stands in their way isone of the toughest cross coun-try regions in the state; one thathas produced outstanding run-ners that have advanced andstarred at the college level.

After losing most of the teamto graduation, the Lady Hawkshave been led by current statequalifier, Jazmine Garcia. Gar-

cia was the first runner in Zapa-ta’s history to earn a medal atstate last year after finishing inninth place.

With that experience in hand,Garcia has been steady on the

course and stands poised tobuild her accomplishments.

The Lady Hawks took secondplace in District 32-3A on Oct.24, punching a ticket to the re-gional meet for the 11th time in

school history. With a runner-up title in their

pocket and unbridled determi-nation, the Lady Hawks take the

HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY

Lady Hawks liftoffZapata girls line up at regional race in San Antonio

By CLARA SANDOVALTHE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata Lady Hawks cross country team looks for success at the regional meet today in San Antonio before the Texasstate meet in Round Rock.

Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times

See GIRLS PAGE 2B

The time has come for theZapata Hawks to put alltheir hard work to the

test, with their biggest hurdleto date — the regional meet —standing in the way of a trip tostate.

The Hawks have been rankedin the top 10 all season and willbattle Liberty Hill for the re-gional title and a trip to OldSettlers Park in Round Rock,the site of the state meet onNov. 12.

Zapata must get through atough region, running this af-ternoon at the Regional IV meetin San Antonio, hosted byUTSA.

The Hawks run at 1:40 p.m.Zapata has one goal in mind:

pick up a regional title on theirway to state.

“We are running for a region-al title,” Zapata coach Luis Es-camilla said. “If all goes well,we know what it takes to beatLiberty Hill. If we fall short wewill know where to fix our hic-cup to run well at state.”

The Hawks have been fo-cused in practice, knowing thereal challenges have begun.

“Practice has been goinggreat,” Escamilla said. “Restwas more of our focus and wejust started to taper to run ourbest at state.”

The Hawks, along with every-one in the region, were thrownfor a loop when it was an-nounced that the course for therace had been changed to ashooting range by San AntonioTaft High School instead ofUTSA.

“It was supposed to be atUTSA, this was a shocker to ev-eryone in the region,” Escamil-la said. “No one has run thiscourse, not even a jog.”

The first time that the Hawksgot an opportunity to see thecourse was Friday eveningwhen all the teams were al-lowed to practice the course.

Escamilla feels that the hardwork the team had enduredhave prepared the Hawks forany course in the state.

“It is a new course and a newsite,” Escamilla said. “I hear it’shilly but we did our homeworkall season and we are ready forany course.”

With the season coming to itsbreaking point and all eyes onobtaining the ultimate goal of astate title, the Hawks are fo-cused with great energy levels.

“The entire team is synergiz-ing and are ready to rumble theregion,” Escamilla said.

(Clara Sandoval can bereached at sandoval.cla-ra@gmail.com)

The Zapata Hawks boys’ cross country team takes on the regional meet todayon its way to hopefully achieving a Texas state meet appearance.

Photos by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times

HAWKS GLIDEINTO REGIONAL

By CLARA SANDOVALTHE ZAPATA TIMES “Rest was more of

our focus. … Theentire team issynergizing andare ready torumble theregion”ZAPATA COACH LUIS ESCAMILLA

After accomplishing theirfirst few goals of the season —winning a district title and go-ing undefeated — the Zapata La-dy Hawks fell short of their sec-ond goal: running deep in theplayoffs.

Zapata (17-8) fell behind 2-1and could not find an offensiverhythm, one that was so preva-lent throughout its banner year,losing to Ingleside 13-25, 25-18,21-25, 14-25 in the Class 3A areaplayoffs.

“This season went well for us.Actually it was a great season,”Zapata coach Rosie Villarrealsaid. “It took us most of the pre-season for me to put the teamtogether.

“Some people thought that wewould not do as well as we didbecause of the loss of last year’sseniors. The fact that the girlsfinally got it going is a big plusespecially from the seniors.

“They knew what they want-ed to accomplish and what theyneeded to do to reach theirgoals. It was a big team effort. Iam so proud of this group be-

cause they made sure that thedistrict title stayed at Zapataand made history winning back-to-back district titles.”

The usual suspects filled outthe stat sheet for the LadyHawks. Kristina De Leon andShelby Bigler, who have beensteady for Zapata all season,came out swinging on offense.

De Leon led the team with 16kills while Bigler added 12 ver-sus Ingleside.

The Lady Hawks were over-whelmed in their opening set af-ter scoring the first three pointsof the match. Ingleside rolled off

five straight points and Zapatacouldn’t find its footing the restof the opening set.

“(We) started being very care-ful with (our) skills and westarted to make mental mis-takes,” Villarreal said. “(We)were able to regroup but wewere too far behind to catchup.”

The second set was a back-and-forth affair after Zapatapulled Ingleside back after a 5-0lead.

Behind at 9-10, Bigler served

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Lady Hawks see season haltedBy CLARA SANDOVAL

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See ZAPATA PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

don’t expect success, get ataste of it, and instill thatin their DNA, then howcould you expect it at thehigh school level.

To say that I was strict isan understatement. Nopractice, no play. That wasmy rule and I didn’t care ifyou were the star of theteam. If we didn’t need youat practice, then we didn’tneed you on the court dur-ing a game.

Everyone that practicedplayed, and I didn’t holdtryouts. So I had a team of25 girls that all wanted toplay.

To make sure that they

were really committed tothe basketball program Iheld practice at 6 a.m., andwe practiced at that timeduring the holidays too. Ittook dedication.

Slowly the team dwin-dled down to 15, and theyall played inside a systemthat I devised. They allknew when to go in andhad to pay attention to theclock. Everyone played andwe had a great season.

Middle School programsare the heart of high schoolsports, and Zapata has ben-efited immensely through-out the successful years ofits own.

SANDOVAL Continued from Page 1B

five points to give Zapata a14-10 lead.

Zapata found its footingas De Leon and Biglercame alive, picking the In-gleside defense apart.

The Lady Hawks tookgame two to put them backin the race for the area ti-tle, but errors in the thirdset led to the demise of theLady Hawks.

Ingleside went on a rallyto knot it up at 21 pointsbefore securing the set offfour points to take a 2-1lead.

Zapata never recapturedany momentum. The LadyHawks sat in an eight-pointhole with errors mounting.

“We started to be toocareful with our passes andhits, so much so that wemade several errors,” Vil-

larreal said. “The girlsplayed well. I think the dif-ference was the mistakes.Both teams had their shareof errors, we just happenedto make a few more.

“They were very over-powering and we were offon our blocking.

“On behalf of the volley-ball program and thecoaching staff, we wouldlike to thank parents, ourhigh school staff and every-one who supported us dur-ing our season.”

ZAPATA STATS: De Leon (16kills, four digs), Bigler (12kills, one block, two aces),Jackie Salinas (six kills,three aces, four digs), AbbyAguilar (20 digs, two aces),Estella Molina (two aces, 30assists), Liana Flores (oneblock).

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1B

course this afternoon at1:20 p.m.

This year the stakes arehigher and carry the hopesof a perfect day at the re-gional meet.

“They will have to runtheir hearts out and nothold anything back,” Zapa-ta coach Mike Villarrealsaid. “We need to runsmart and leave it all onthe course.”

The team has been re-viewing and focusing onthe race, and resting inpreparation.

“It has been very produc-tive,” Villarreal said.“There is not much that wecan do at this point. We arejust resting, trying to stayhealthy and in a great posi-tive frame of mind.”

The Lady Hawks will al-so have to deal with a newcourse this afternoon asUIL decided late in theweek to change the courseafter originally setting it onthe grounds of UTSA.

(Clara Sandoval can bereached at sandoval.cla-ra@gmail.com)

GIRLS Continued from Page 1B

DePaul’s basketball teamspent 10 days touringFrance, playing a fewgames, taking in the sights,even finishing a schoolcourse on university name-sake Saint Vincent de Paulby retracing his footsteps.

Fun, hoops and a littlelearning — summer tripsdon’t get much better thanthat.

“It was a great way tolearn and the basketball,they love to play basketball,so that was a nice diver-sion,” DePaul coach OliverPurnell said. “At the sametime, they had enough timeoff that they could hang outat the city and play at thebeach. In terms of bondingand relationship building, Ithought it was a real nicetrip.”

The memorable trip alsoserved another purpose. Itgave the Blue Demons, likemore a dozen other teamsthat played overseas duringthe summer, a big headstart on the upcoming sea-son.

The NCAA allows teamsto take overseas trips onceevery four year. They are al-lowed to practice up to 10days before leaving and canplay as many as 10 games,though most teams playabout half that. The tripshave to take place at least 30days after the championshipgame of the previous seasonand 30 days before the startof practice for the next sea-son.

Most teams raise moneyfor the trips through fund-raisers.

By taking their teamsoverseas, coaches get anearly look at how their teamwill react in game situa-

tions, usually against pro-fessional teams from othercounties. They also get achance to experiment withlineups and schemes theymight not have time to tin-ker with once the seasonstarts.

Chemistry could be thebiggest advantage, particu-larly since the NCAA re-cently started allowing in-coming players to go on thetrips.

Some teams, as George-town found out, even en-counter adversity.

While on a trip to China,the Hoyas were involved inan ugly incident, with fists,chairs and water bottles fly-

ing during an all-out brawlwith a Chinese team at agame in Beijing. Footage ofthe “global incident,” ascoach John Thompson IIIcalled it, played everywherefrom YouTube to nationalTV news, but it may haveactually had a side benefit.

The road trips also canbe a good early evaluationtool.

Purnell has seven newplayers on his team, so thetour through France was achance to get to know hisyounger players and forthem to get a hands-on ex-perience in his system.

Duke will have to rely onseveral younger players

with Kyrie Irving, NolanSmith and Kyle Singlergone, and a trip to Chinagave coach Mike Krzyzew-ski an early look at whatthey can do under pressure.

Creighton returns justfive players from last seasonand will have four freshmenin the rotation, so the runthrough the Bahamas was ahuge jump start.

Iowa State will have fourDivision I transfers on theroster this season and eventhough the Cyclones didn’texactly face the toughest ofcompetition in a four-gamestop in Italy, it gave coachFred Hoiberg an earlychance to integrate his new

players into the system. These foreign tours aren’t

all about hoops. Stanford’s players, in ad-

dition to playing six gamesin 11 days in Spain, spenttime together visiting theRoyal Palace in Madrid, fa-mous Las Ramblas Street inBarcelona and eating tradi-tional Spanish food such asPaella for dinner.

DePaul’s players started acourse on Saint Vincent dePaul back in Illinois andcontinued it in France witha professor from the univer-sity who took them to plac-es of significance in the 17thcentury Catholic priest’slife, including the church

where he was buried. IowaState’s players got to visitthe Coliseum in Rome andthe Vatican, among othersites.

Villanova’s players got tosee the Eiffel Tower, theAnne Frank museum homeand the Mona Lisa during atrip through France, Lux-embourg and The Nether-lands. The Wildcats evenwent on a boat tour throughthe canals of Amsterdamand had an upscale dinnertogether with the wholeplace to themselves.

Villanova played againstprofessional teams from Is-rael, Georgia and The Neth-erlands, while the Hoyas lit-erally had to defend them-selves in a hostileenvironment halfwayaround the world.

Stanford didn’t win a sin-gle game during its 11-daytrip through Spain whileplaying against six top pro-fessional teams from theACB League — Real Madridand FC Barcelona Regalamong them — but took alot away from the tests.

These before-the-presea-son trips certainly giveteams an advantage headinginto the season.

Many of the teams thatgo overseas together get offto quick starts, and forsome it carries the entireway through.

Last season, a Kentuckyteam that lost five first-round NBA picks made it tothe Final Four after takinga tour of Canada during thesummer. Michigan, comingoff a lackluster 2009-10 sea-son, used a summer trip toBelgium to make a deeprun in the NCAA Tourna-ment last season.

These trips don’t alwaysturn into more wins, butthey certainly don’t hurt.

Overseas NCAA tours offer advantagesBy JOHN MARSHALLASSOCIATED PRESS

NCAA basketball programs, like Duke, take advantage of the opportunity to tour Europe and Asia. The trips lead to bonding, chemistry, ex-perience and many other attributes that may not be available without the overseas trips.

Photo by Gerry Broome | AP

MONTGOMERY, Ala. —Auburn kept quarterbackCam Newton eligible bysuccessfully arguing to theNCAA that a former Mis-sissippi State player did notact as an agent during hisrecruitment by that school.

Auburn released docu-ments related to theNCAA’s investigation intothe recruiting allegationssurrounding Newton, theHeisman Trophy winnerand No. 1 NFL draft pick,on Friday in response to anopen records request byThe Associated Press.

The documents indicateNewton’s father, Cecil New-ton, and ex-MississippiState player Kenny Rogerssought from $120,000 to$180,000 for the quarterbackto sign with the Bulldogsout of junior college butdidn’t ask any other schoolfor money.

The NCAA informed Au-burn in October that itfound no major violationsin its investigation of New-ton’s recruitment or otherunrelated pay-for-play alle-gations and was ending a13-month probe.

Newton led the Tigers totheir first national titlesince 1957 in his lone sea-son at the SoutheasternConference school. He’snow starting for the NFL’sCarolina Panthers.

The documents shedlight on the process, Au-burn’s arguments and Rog-ers’ apparent motivations.

The NCAA’s Academicand Membership Affairsstaff declared Newton ineli-gible on Nov. 30, 2010, afterdetermining Rogers actedas Newton’s athletic schol-arship agent, violating By-law 12.3.3.

He was reinstated thenext day, the Wednesday be-fore the SEC championshipgame. Auburn successfullyargued that Newton neverhad a verbal or writtenagreement with Rogers orCecil Newton to act as hisagent, wasn’t aware of thepay-for-play scheme and re-ceived no benefit from Rog-ers. Nor did Newton hire orcompensate Rogers to serveas an agent or athleticsscholarship agent, Auburn

argued.“Cam had no knowledge

or involvement in this mis-conduct, and Auburn re-spectfully submits that heshould not be punished forthe conduct of others,” theuniversity’s request forreinstatement said.

The documents offeredsome insight into Rogers’dealings with MississippiState representatives JohnBond and Bill Bell.

Bond indicated that Rog-ers, who operated EliteFootball Preparation forprospective college athlet-ics, told him he was justtrying to get Newton toplay for his former schooland they “just had to makeit happen.” Bell also toldthe NCAA Rogers didn’tgive him any indicationthat Newton knew aboutthe efforts to collect money.

“There is no informationsuggesting that Rogers hadsimilar discussions about acash inducement with anyother institution, either di-rectly or indirectly,” onejoint Auburn and NCAA

document stated.Auburn said it had no

contact with Rogers whilerecruiting Newton and“was in no way involvedwith offering or consider-ing an offer of any recruit-ing inducement.”

“Despite numerousmedia reports suggestingNewton himself has en-gaged in wrongdoing, thefacts clearly demonstrateNewton has done nothingwrong,” Auburn told theNCAA.

Rogers also spoke tocoaches at Oklahoma andKansas State about New-ton, the NCAA said.

The NCAA and Auburnfound Cecil Newton andRogers first discussed ask-ing representatives of Mis-sissippi State for “a sub-stantial cash payment”around the time of his offi-cial visit from Nov. 27-29,2009. Rogers was also oncampus during the visitand, NCAA documents say,he and Cecil Newton metwith two Bulldogs assist-ants in a hotel lobby and

discussed payment. Thetwo coaches denied to theNCAA that such induce-ments were discussed.

The NCAA notified Au-burn of its investigation onOct. 5, 2009, and requesteddocuments including texts,emails and bank recordsfor Cam Newton and hisparents and for Cecil New-ton’s suburban Atlantachurch from Dec. 1, 2008 toSept. 1, 2010.

The governing body alsosought texts and cell phonerecords for Auburn coachGene Chizik and assistantsCurtis Luper and Gus Mal-zahn — Newton’s primaryrecruiters — from the sameperiod.

The documents said Ce-cil Newton’s phone recordsindicate that he and Rogersexchanged some 275 callsor text messages betweenMarch 2009 and January2010, with “the vast major-ity of these related toMSU’s recruitment of New-ton.” Only about 15 cameafter Newton signed withAuburn on Dec. 31, 2009.

Newton documents releasedBy JOHN ZENOR

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Auburn released documents related to the NCAA’s investigation into the recruiting allegations sur-rounding former QB and current Carolina Panther Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner and No.1 NFL draft pick.

Photo by Chuck Burton | AP

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:

FAMILY CIRCUS

DENNIS THE MENACE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

Dear Heloise: I began read-ing Heloise in 1962 as a new-lywed. Reading the recenthints from “Original Heloise”readers, I just had to share afew of my FAVORITES, too:

Fold down the edges ofa paper sack and punch ahole near the top to hang thebag from your vacuum clean-er. As you clean each room,place trash inside the bag.Saves you steps, and the bagcan be thrown away. I alsohave used empty bread bagsor whatever. I even have useda second bag for smalleritems that belonged in otherrooms.

If leftover veggies areonly enough for one serving,place them in a freezer con-tainer and freeze. Eventually,you’ll have a nice containerof layers of veggies to usewhen making homemade

soups. A spot of fat or grease

on your dress or blouse?Gently rub in baby powderand let sit until you do yourlaundry. This has neverfailed me when grease splat-ters and I am not wearing anapron.

Place breakfast dishesin the sink, then fill withdish detergent and the hot-test water possible. Let themsit for 20 or 30 minutes whilemaking beds and tidying up.The dishes are then veryeasy to clean.

— Katrina P., Live Oak,Texas

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Request For ProposalFOR

E-Rate Eligible Services (Priority Two)Funding Year 15 by

Zapata County Independent School District 17th Street and CarlaZapata, Texas 78076

BID No. ZCISD15112011ICE-Rate Funding Year 15

(7/1/12-6/30/2013)Zapata County Independent School District issoliciting proposals for Data CommunicationEquipment, Data Protection Equipment andData Wireless Communication Equipment(Internal Connections) through the E-RateProgram funding round 15.Zapata County I.S.D. will accept proposalsmarked Attn: Tech Bid Desk for ZAPATACOUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT,entity number 141503. All bidders must readand abide by the Eligible Services List on theSchools and Libraries Web site. Please go towww.zcisd.org and click on ‘RFP for E-RateFY15’ to view RFP in its entirety. Proposalsmust be comprehensive, itemized and have avalid SPIN issued by USAC, refer to full RFPposting for details. We urge but do not requiredpotential bidders to perform an informalwalkthrough to gather a better understanding ofdistrict’s needs, refer to full RFP for details.Proposal must be received on or beforeDecember 5, 2012 by 4:30 p.m. Zapata CountyI.S.D., 702 E. 17th Street, P.O. Box 158, Zapata,Texas 78076. Bids that are received after thedeadline will be returned unopened to thebidder. Please see full RFP for details.The Zapata County Independent School DistrictForm 470 can be view on the Universal ServiceAdministrative Company website,www.usac.org. As per USAC rules andregulations, Form 470 and RFP must be postedfor 28 days. After the 28th day, Z.C.I.S.D. willmeet and decide based on an evaluation matrixon a vendor that is most advantageous to thedistrict.If there are any questions concerning this RFP,refer to www.zcisd.org and click on ‘RFP for E-Rate FY15’.

L-80

Request For ProposalFOR

E-Rate Eligible Services (Priority One)Funding Year 15by

Zapata County Independent School District 17thStreet and CarlaZapata, Texas 78076

BID No. ZCISD15112011TE-Rate Funding Year 15 (7/1/12-6/30/2013)

Zapata County Independent School District issoliciting proposals forTelecommunicationsthrough the E-Rate Program funding round 15.Zapata County I.S.D. will accept proposalsmarked Attn: Tech Bid Desk for ZAPATACOUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT,entity number 141503. All bidders must readand abide by the Eligible Services List on theSchools and Libraries Web site. Please go towww.zcisd.org and click on ‘RFP for E-RateFY15’ to view RFP in its entirety. Proposalsmust be comprehensive, itemized and have avalid SPIN issued by USAC, refer to full RFPposting for details. Proposal must be received on or beforeDecember 5, 2012 by 4:30 p.m. Zapata CountyI.S.D., 702 E. 17th Street, P.O. Box 158, Zapata,Texas 78076. Bids that are received after thedeadline will be returned unopened to the bid-der. Please see full RFP for details.The Zapata County Independent School DistrictForm 470 can be view on the Universal ServiceAdministrative Company website,www.usac.org. As per USAC rules and regula-tions, Form 470 and RFP must be posted for 28days. After the 28th day, Z.C.I.S.D. will meet anddecide based on an evaluation matrix on a ven-dor that is most advantageous to the district.ONLY DIR Contracts will be entertained forthis RFP.If there are any questions concerning this RFP,refer to www.zcisd.org and click on ‘RFP for E-Rate FY15’.

L-79

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

ARLINGTON — The DallasCowboys will celebrate their pastSunday, devoting halftime of theirgame against Seattle to the in-duction of 1970s star Drew Pear-son, and 1990s greats Charles Ha-ley and Larry Allen into theirRing of Honor.

Even their foe conjures memo-ries of Cowboys lore, as the Sea-hawks will be visiting for thefirst time since the day in 2002when Emmitt Smith became theNFL’s career rushing leader. Real-ly digging deep, it was a draft-daytrade with Seattle in 1977 thatbrought Dallas the rights to an-other Hall of Fame running back,Tony Dorsett.

Why the emphasis on the past?For Cowboys fans, it’s easier andmore enjoyable than scrutinizingthe present.

Dallas comes into this gamestill trying to get a handle on the2011 club, which sits at 3-4 andpart of a three-way tie for secondplace in the NFC East.

At home two weeks ago,against a winless team, the Cow-boys looked darn good. On theroad last Sunday against a strug-gling but talented team, the Cow-boys looked horrible. Their fivegames before that were all decid-ed in the final minutes — everywin a play away from being a

loss, every loss a play away frombeing a win.

Now it’s November, the part ofthe NFL season where the stand-ings start to bear watching.

With nine games left, Dallasstill has plenty of time to make arun at the division title or a wild-card spot. But a roll better start

soon, especially with the way theCowboys’ schedule sets up.

Four of the next five opponentshave a losing record, with Seattle(2-5) actually among the betterteams in that group. The best-case scenario for Dallas is usingthat stretch to build some mo-mentum for a final month that

includes a pair of games againstdivision-leading New York. Thisis probably what owner JerryJones was referring to earlierthis week when he said a lopsid-ed loss to Philadelphia was noreason to panic.

“We got to start getting somewins together and we can do that

by getting a win this weekagainst Seattle,” quarterback To-ny Romo said. “There is a senseof urgency. It’s time for us to getstarted.”

Seahawks coach Pete Carrollcalled Dallas’ 34-7 loss to Phila-delphia the outlier among theCowboys’ performances this sea-son. He also pointed out therewasn’t much his team could bor-row from the Eagles’ game plan.Much of the Eagles’ successstemmed from the running oftheir quarterback, and Seattle’sTarvaris Jackson is no MichaelVick.

The Cowboys had been theNFL’s top run defense until al-lowing the Eagles to stomp themfor 239 yards. Rob Ryan’s unit re-mains tops in the NFC, though,at 328.3 yards per game of totaldefense. One wrinkle this week isthat Sean Lee, the linebackerwho leads the club in tackles andinterceptions, probably won’tplay because of a wrist injury.That should open more time forveterans Bradie James and KeithBrooking, and perhaps rookieBruce Carter, a second-roundpick who debuted last week onlyon special teams.

Defense is Seattle’s strength,too. The Seahawks have allowedthree teams to scored 13 points orless; problem is their offense hasscored 13 points or less fourtimes.

Dallas hosts Seattle for first time since 2002By JAIME ARON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo will line up against the Seattle Seahawks in Dallas on Sunday for the first time since Seattle vis-ited in 2002.

Photo by Michael Perez | AP

HOUSTON — Just abouteverything went ColtMcCoy’s way at Texas.

As a junior in 2008, hecompleted an NCAA-record76.7 percent of his passes,was the runner-up for theHeisman Trophy and ledthe Longhorns to a 12-1 re-cord. In 2009, he becamethe winningest quarter-back in NCAA history,guided Texas to the nation-al championship game anddeparted Austin holding 47school records and legend-ary status.

Hardly anything is com-ing easily for McCoy in thepros.

Drafted by Cleveland inthe third round in 2010,McCoy has already lostmore games as an NFLstarter (10) than he did incollege (8). This year, he’scompleted 57 percent of hispasses and committed near-ly as many turnovers (7) ashe’s thrown touchdownpasses (9).

So pardon McCoy if he’snot feeling too sentimentalabout returning to Texas tolead the Browns (3-4)against the first-place Tex-ans (5-3) at Reliant Stadiumon Sunday.

“We won’t get there untilSaturday evening, play onSunday and then comehome,” he said. “I don’thave a lot of time to sched-ule anything, but hopefullyI’ll get to see some friendsand family that I wouldn’tget to see normally in ayear. That’ll be prettyneat.”

Fittingly, McCoy couldend up having former Tex-as teammate Chris Ogbon-naya in the backfield.

Ogbonnaya, waived by

the Texans less than amonth ago, may start withthe status of Peyton Hillisup in the air and backupMontario Hardesty out in-definitely with a torn calfmuscle.

Hillis has missed the lasttwo games with a strainedhamstring, the latest set-back in a stormy fewmonths that began with hispublic contract dispute.Hillis sat out practice againWednesday.

“We’ve just got to seehow much he can do and ifhe can get himself back in-to a position to play,” Cleve-land coach Pat Shurmursaid.

The Texans, meanwhile,were waiting out the statusof star receiver AndreJohnson, who’s missed fourgames with a right hamstr-ing injury. Johnson hadsoreness after a hard work-out on Monday, and sat outWednesday’s practice.

“The thing here is, wegot to do what’s best forhim as a player,” Houstoncoach Gary Kubiak said.“He’s going to play a lotmore football in thisleague, and he’s going toplay a lot more this year.But we just got to be smartwhen that is.”

While Matt Schaub’scompletion percentage has

dipped without Johnson inrecent weeks, more playershave become involved in theoffense. Schaub has com-pleted passes to 12 differentreceivers since Johnson washurt.

“We just know what wehave to do as an offense. Weknow how to execute ourstuff,” Schaub said. “Wehave guys that have been inthis position and had to stepup.”

Houston can also fallback on Arian Foster andthe league’s fourth-rankedrushing attack (142 yardsper game). Foster hastopped 100 yards rushing inthe Texans’ last two games.

Browns’ McCoy comes backBy CHRIS DUNCANASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy (12) returns to Texas to face the Houston Texans on Sun-day.

Photo by Ben Margot | AP

The NBA’s owners andplayers are preparing toclimb into the ring onceagain in their ongoing laborfight, and the latest roundis shaping up as the mostdivisive yet.

The two sides are sched-uled to meet Saturday inNew York with talks at astandstill, a group of play-ers threatening to disbandthe union and a section ofowners digging in theirheels on what they’re will-ing to offer to get a dealdone.

Only one thing appearscertain — the threat of los-ing the 2011-12 season hasnever been greater.

About 50 players heldtwo conference calls thisweek to discuss decertifica-tion because they are un-happy with negotiations fora new collective bargainingagreement. According tosome labor law and anti-trust experts, a vote to dis-solve the union could de-stroy hopes for even ashortened season.

The move could swingsome negotiating leverageto the players, antitrust at-torney David Scupp saidFriday. But he added thattaking the fight to courtthrough an antitrust law-suit also would make it dif-ficult to resolve the matterin time to have a season.

“Once you get the courtsinvolved and you end thecollective bargaining pro-cess, it does slow thingsdown and it does make it alittle bit more complicated,”said Scupp, who works at

New York-based law firmConstantine Cannon.

The first month of theNBA season, originallyscheduled to tipoff Tuesday,already has been canceled,with more games on thechopping block if an agree-ment is not reached soon.

Decertification talk bub-bled to the surface thisweek amid reports thatunion president Derek Fish-er and executive directorBilly Hunter are not seeingeye to eye. The union spentmost of Thursday trying toproject a united front evenas that group of playersworked behind the scenes tobuild momentum to elimi-nate the union.

The owners also showsigns of not being on thesame page. Miami Heatowner Mickey Arison wasfined last week for hintingon Twitter that he wasready to get a deal donewhile several smaller-mar-ket owners are said to beholding out for more con-cessions from the players.The owners are scheduledto meet Saturday before re-suming negotiations to af-firm their bargaining posi-tion, a person with knowl-edge of the meeting toldThe Associated Press. Theperson requested anonymi-ty because he was not au-thorized to speak publiclyabout the meeting.

At issue from the begin-ning has been the divisionof about $4 billion in basket-ball-related income, alongwith a system makeoverthat Commissioner DavidStern insists must happento fix what he considers abroken economic model.

NBA labor talksdream of dealBy JON KRAWCZYNSKI

ASSOCIATED PRESS

the 2005 season openeragainst TCU.

And none of his currentplayers had ever experi-enced defeat at home.Some had never traileduntil earlier this year,when the Sooners fell be-hind for the first time in21 home games.

Texas A&M will be try-ing for back-to-back winsagainst the Sooners, afterclaiming a 33-19 triumphlast season in College Sta-tion. But for the thirdtime this season, the Ag-gies are also trying to doaway with the bad memo-ries of a second-half col-lapse.

All three of the team’slosses this season havecome after double-digitleads slipped away in thesecond half.

“We have a phenomenalchallenge this week up inNorman,” coach MikeSherman said. “It’s easyto lay down on that mat. I

tell them all the time it’snot easy to play football.Football is a game of 1-on-1 matchups, and 11guys winning their match-ups. Our ability to winour matchups in the up-coming game is going tobe huge.

“Oklahoma bouncedback (from the Texas Techloss) against a very goodKansas State team, andour ability to bounce backis a true measure of whowe are.”

A&M followed a midsea-son swoon last year — los-ing to the same threeteams — by reeling off sixstraight victories to earna trip to the Cotton Bowl.With four games left,there’s still time for anoth-er strong finish.

Considering its per-formance the last time onOwen Field, Oklahoma isin no position to throwstones at A&M for its sec-ond-half struggles.

NORMAN, Okla. — Formore than six years, Okla-homa won every singletime it played at home andusually won big.

That air of invincibilityis gone.

For the first time intheir careers, this group ofSooners will play on OwenField knowing what itfeels like to lose at home.A 39-game home winningstreak that was the long-est in the nation wassnapped by Texas Techduring their last game inNorman, and Texas A&M(5-3, 3-2 Big 12) comes totown with a task that maynot seem as ominous any-more.

“On Saturday, we’re go-ing to go out there andwe’re going to play ball.We’ll see what it turns out— if the mystique’s stillthere or if it’s not,” said

Sooners quarterback Lan-dry Jones, the nation’ssecond-most prolific pas-ser. “We’re going to see onSaturday.”

Texas Tech, which wasunranked and coming offconsecutive home losses atthe time, completely con-trolled Oklahoma whileopening a 31-7 third-quar-ter lead two weeks ago. Itwas easily the worst homeperformance by the Soon-ers in Bob Stoops’ 13 sea-sons as head coach withfailures on offense, de-fense and special teams.

“You can’t just roll yourhelmet out there and ex-pect to win,” receiver JazReynolds said. “Doing thatgot us beat pretty good.”

Still, the seventh-ranked Sooners (7-1, 4-1)have never lost back-to-back home games underStoops, who is 75-3 onOwen Field. Before Tech’s41-38 victory, he hadn’tlost a home games since

A&M hopes to visit Sooners with huge win

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill looks to lead his Aggies intoNorman, Okla., and leave with a win against the Oklahoma Soonerstoday.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

By JEFF LATZKEASSOCIATED PRESS