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BCS BIG SHOW IN THE DESERTOREGON, AUBURN FACE OFF IN PINNACLE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL, 1B

Newly hired Advance Educa-tion Center Director David Brownhas taken on the responsibility ofproviding higher education to theunderserved and partially ruralcommunity of Zapata after a suc-cessful stint as development direc-tor at Mercy Health Center, wherehe helped secure funding benefit-ing the United States and theMexican border.

Brown, a gradu-ate of the Universi-ty of Texas-Austinand William Mitch-ell College of Lawin St. Paul, Minn.,procured morethan $20 million forpublic health careprojects, economicdevelopment industry incentivegrants, higher education fundrais-ing, public infrastructure, andservice projects along the U.S.-Mexico Border, he said.

In addition to his studies inWilliam Mitchell, Brown was as-sociate editor of the WilliamMitchell Law Review and a pub-lished law student author on thesubject of legal ethics, he said.

He also had a hand in raisingmore than $6 million for publichealth projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, including the firstmulti-million dollar National Can-cer Institute research grant tostudy cancer disparities amongHispanic and Latino communi-ties, Brown said.

Brown supervised the assign-ment and distribution of approxi-mately $130 million in state fundsto public schools, colleges, univer-sities, libraries, and non-profithealth care organizations for tech-nology telecommunications con-nectivity and upgrades as the re-gional state administrator forSouth Texas at the Texas Tele-communications InfrastructureFund Board in Austin.

Technology is up Brown de-signed the first state telemedicinegrant initiative in the U.S., tospend approximately $30 millionearmarked for public and non-profit health care facilities andhospitals to deliver direct patientcare to underserved and ruralcommunities in Texas via the In-ternet and high-tech medical pe-ripherals, he said.

Also, while helping recent highschool graduates and others inter-ested in furthering their educa-tions, Brown is also completing a

ADVANCE ED CENTER

Chief’sgoal ishigher

edDavid Brown was atMercy Health Center

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See BROWN PAGE 10A

BROWN

Commissioners will comedown hard on county depart-ments by demanding updatesand status reports at the nextregular Commissioners Courtmeeting Monday. They also willdirect county departments to cutdown on unnecessary spending.

Several county projects havebeen in the works for several

months and Commissioner JoseE. Vela is requesting updates onthe Zapata County Museum ofHistory, the Advance EducationCenter, and the CACST HealthClinic, according to the agenda.

“I want to know if we’re goingto get the errors corrected in themuseum and we’ll also be ad-dressing the outcome of thegrant reimbursement we’re pend-ing,” Vela said. “I also want toknow what the status is on the

health clinic we purchased to seewhat we need to do.”

The county is expecting a $1million federal grant reimburse-ment for the Advance EducationCenter and purchased theCACST Health Clinic for morethan $600,000 last month.

With the budget deficit, com-missioners are constantly look-ing for ways to bring in revenueand alleviate the debt.

Commissioner Eddie Martinez

has requested that all depart-ments present proposed raisesonly during the budget process,unless mandatory to the specificdepartments due to having sever-al requests for pay increases lastmonth.

“If a (sheriff ’s) sergeant makescaptain, I think those are manda-tory. Other than that I want ev-erything brought to

See ZAPATA PAGE 9A

ZAPATA COUNTY

Eye on expendituresCommissioners want unnecessary spending stopped

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

From faculty buyouts andlayoffs to cutting office suppli-es and travel expenses, publicuniversities in Texas are re-sponding in various ways tostate-mandated budget cuts.

Officials at Texas A&M Uni-versity in College Station an-nounced in December that theschool would save $15 millionby cutting 105 tenured facultymembers through buyoutagreements, which involve thefaculty leaving the universityby next fall.

The buyouts came on theheels of the Legislative BudgetBoard asking all state agen-cies, including Texas universi-ties, for an additional 2.5 per-cent budget reduction in gen-eral revenue for this fiscalyear, which ends Aug. 31.

That’s in addition to the 5percent in state funding thatstate agencies were ordered toreturn for the 2010 and 2011biennium.

Agencies are also projectingan additional 10 percent cut.That figure may change de-pending on what happens withthe projected state budgetshortfall, which has been esti-mated to be as high as $25 bil-lion.

At TAMIU“At this time, since we don’t

have specifics, we do not knowwhat, specifically, would be re-duced,” a Texas A&M Interna-tional University official wrotein an e-mail to Laredo Morn-ing Times on Tuesday.

See TAMIU PAGE 9A

TAMIUfacingbudget

cutsBy NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata County Independent School District re-sumed classes Wednesday after a long winterbreak.

Zapata Middle School students, faculty, andstaff are especially excited to return to school af-ter the campus received a complete face lift.

“All the kids are back but there are still somethings that need to be completed,” said AssistantPrincipal Dahlia Garcia.

Teachers moved in during the winter break toprepare their classrooms, Garcia said.

“They were really great about fixing up theirrooms before school started,” Garcia said.

Seven maintenance workers helped with themove in progress, Garcia added.

Both the library and the gym are still in thefinishing stages.

The library was expanded and books are stillneeded to be shelved, while the floor in the gym isbeing replaced with wooden flooring, Garcia said.

The gym also includes new bleachers, score-boards and dressing rooms, Garcia said.

“The girls’ dressing room is very nice and pri-vate with separate stalls and showers,” Garciasaid.

Dressing rooms can also now be given to vis-iting teams, Garcia added.

The new middle school campus, formerly thehigh school before a new high school campus wasbuilt several years ago, houses 750 students.

ABOVE: Zapata Middle School students head towards their second-period classes on Friday morning. BELOW: Students inMichael Guerra’s science class learn about the Periodic Table of Elements through lab activities and experiments Fridaymorning at Zapata Middle School.

Photos by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times

BACK TO CLASSESNew middle schoolwelcomes students

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See SCHOOL PAGE 10A

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

SATURDAY, JAN. 8Learn about robotics, drive a

real robot and explore opportunities inscience, technology, engineering andmathematics. Meet Laredo’s award-win-ning teams and discover more aboutRobotics at the Imaginarium of SouthTexas in Mall del Norte from 9 a.m. to3 p.m. For more information, contactJose Perez at jose@imaginariumstx.org.

Walk for suicide prevention byjoining the Out of the Darkness Com-munity Walk at Laredo Community Col-lege’s Fort McIntosh Campus. Registra-tion, which is free, starts at 8:30 a.m.The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. Dona-tions will be accepted. For more infor-mation, call Julia Rubio at (956) 337-4933.

MONDAY, JAN. 10Join Laredo Community College

for an opening reception for DigiArt 3,an exhibit featuring the works of stu-dents and faculty from the ComputerAided Drafting and Design TechnologyProgram, at 10:30 a.m. in the Yeary Li-brary at the Fort McIntosh Campus.Admission is free and open to thecampus body and public. For more in-formation, call (956) 721-5280.

The Laredo Little Theatre willhold auditions for “Real Women HaveCurves” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The all-girl cast requires one girl between 18and 25 and five older girls. For moreinformation, call Jeannie Lopez at(956) 723-0644.

TUESDAY, JAN. 11LB Johnson High School is host-

ing a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 4p.m. at 5626 Cielito Lindo. Blood do-nor requirements are as follows: any-one who is 16 years old weighing 120pounds (with parental consent form),or at least 17 years old weighing 110pounds, and in good general healthcan donate blood. Identification re-quired. call 1-800-292-5534 for moreinformation.

The Laredo Little Theatre willhold auditions for “Real Women HaveCurves” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.The all-girl cast requires one girl be-tween 18 and 25 and five older girls.For more information, call Jeannie Lo-pez at (956) 723-0644.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12Martin High School is hosting a

blood drive from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.at 2002 San Bernardo. Blood donor re-quirements are as follows: anyone whois 16 years old weighing 120 pounds(with parental consent form), or atleast 17 years old weighing 110 pounds,and in good general health can donateblood. Identification required. call 1-800-292-5534 for more information.

The American Cancer Societyand Doctors Hospital of Laredo will co-sponsor classes for people with cancerand their family and friends. The I CanCope program gives participants an op-portunity to share their concerns withothers having similar experiences andto design a way to cope with the chal-lenges that arise from a cancer diag-nosis. Guest speakers include profes-sionals in the field of cancer manage-ment. A physician will be present at allmeetings to answer cancer-relatedquestions. This month’s topic is Learn-ing About Cancer. The classes will beoffered the second Wednesday of everymonth from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. atDoctors Hospital of Laredo, Women’sCenter. To RSVP or for more informa-tion, contact Diana Juarez at (956)723-9682 or Jessica Guajardo at (956)523-2658.

THURSDAY, JAN. 13Martin High School is hosting a

blood drive from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.at 2002 San Bernardo. Blood donor re-quirements are as follows: anyone whois 16 years old weighing 120 pounds(with parental consent form), or atleast 17 years old weighing 110 pounds,and in good general health can donateblood. Identification required. call 1-800-292-5534 for more information.

FRIDAY, JAN. 14Doctor’s Hospital is hosting a

blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at10700 McPherson Ave. Blood donor re-quirements are as follows: anyone whois 16 years old weighing 120 pounds(with parental consent form), or atleast 17 years old weighing 110 pounds,and in good general health can donateblood. Identification required; call 1-800-292-5534 for more information.

To submit an item for thecalendar, send the name of theevent, the date, time, locationand contact phone number toeditorial@lmtonline.com

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Jan. 8,the eighth day of 2011. Thereare 357 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On Jan. 8, 1811, Charles Des-londes (some sources say “Des-landes”) led an uprising byhundreds of slaves in the Ter-ritory of Orleans in present-day Louisiana. (The revolt,which claimed the lives of twowhites, failed on its third day,and Deslondes and many ofhis followers were killed byfederal and local troops.)

On this date: In 1798, the 11th Amend-

ment to the U.S. Constitutionwas declared in effect by Pres-ident John Adams nearlythree years after its ratifica-tion by the states; it prohibiteda citizen of one state from su-ing another state in federalcourt.

In 1815, U.S. forces led byGen. Andrew Jackson defeatedthe British in the Battle ofNew Orleans — the closing en-gagement of the War of 1812.

In 1861, President JamesBuchanan’s pro-Southern Sec-retary of the Interior, JacobThompson, resigned.

In 1918, President WoodrowWilson outlined his “FourteenPoints” for lasting peace afterWorld War I. Mississippi be-came the first state to ratifythe 18th Amendment to theConstitution, which establish-ed Prohibition.

In 1935, rock-and-roll legendElvis Presley was born in Tu-pelo, Miss.

In 1959, Charles de Gaullewas inaugurated as presidentof France’s Fifth Republic. InCuba, Fidel Castro and his ar-my arrived in Havana in tri-umph following the overthrowof Fulgencio Batista.

In 1964, President LyndonB. Johnson declared a “Waron Poverty” in his State of theUnion address.

In 1989, 47 people werekilled when a British MidlandBoeing 737-400 carrying 126people crashed in central Eng-land.

In 2003, a US Airways Ex-press commuter plane crashedat the Charlotte, N.C., airport,killing all 21 people on board.A Turkish Airlines jet crashedin Turkey, killing 75 people.

Ten years ago: FormerLouisiana Gov. Edwin Ed-wards was sentenced to 10years in prison and fined aquarter of a million dollars forextorting payoffs from busi-nessmen applying for river-boat casino licenses. PopeJohn Paul II was awarded theCongressional Gold Medal.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-comedian Larry Storch is 88.Actor Ron Moody is 87. Broad-cast journalist Sander Vano-cur is 83. CBS newsman Char-les Osgood is 78. Singer Shir-ley Bassey is 74. Game showhost Bob Eubanks is 73. Coun-try-gospel singer Cristy Laneis 71. Rhythm-and-blues singerAnthony Gourdine (Little An-thony and the Imperials) is 70.Actress Yvette Mimieux is 69.Physicist Stephen Hawking is69. Rock musician RobbyKrieger (The Doors) is 65.Rock singer David Bowie is 64.Movie director John McTier-nan is 60.

Thought for Today: “Con-tempt for happiness is usuallycontempt for other people’shappiness, and is an elegantdisguise for hatred of the hu-man race.” — Bertrand Rus-sell, English philosopher andmathematician (1872-1970).

TODAY IN HISTORY

SAN ANTONIO — Authorities have an-nounced a plan to build a border crossing inWest Texas’ remote Big Bend National Parkthat would allow outdoor enthusiasts to ex-plore the picturesque region on both sides ofthe Rio Grande — despite U.S. governmentwarnings that some parts of Mexico are un-safe to visit due to drug violence.

The crossing will be through BoquillasCanyon, which encompasses part of the parkand Mexican protected lands, U.S. Customsand Border Protection Commissioner AlanBersin said at a news conference in the park.

Construction of the necessary infrastruc-ture, including a boat dock and visitor’s cen-ter, is set to begin in July and a boat carry-ing people back and forth should be runningby April 2012, he said.

“What’s good for one side of the border isgood for the other side of the border. This isone, bi-national region,” Bersin told a smallgroup of reporters in Big Bend. A Border Pa-trol spokesman later provided an audio re-cording of the event to The Associated Press.

There will be no vehicle traffic since ev-eryone crossing will be doing so by boat. Theborder crossing also will not have customs,but Americans will still be required to showpassports or other travel documents to Bor-der Patrol agents, who will be in contactwith colleagues in El Paso, or other, full-ser-vice field offices. Mexicans using the cross-ing will still need U.S. visas.

“While we’ll retain our separate nationalparks and our separate identities as wemaintain our separate sovereignties,” Bersinsaid, “nature has a different timeframe inmind and a different set of priorities.”

AROUND TEXAS

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, left is joined by Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bill Well-man at Big Bend National Park, Texas on Thursday. Bersin announced the U.S. has approved a plan to allow informal cross-ings between the United States and Mexico inside the remote park.

Photo by Customs Border Patrol, Marfa Sector | AP

Big Bend gets crossingBy WILL WEISSERTASSOCIATED PRESS

Court says AG can’t blockgay divorce

DALLAS — A Texas appealscourt says the state’s attorneygeneral can’t block the divorce oftwo women who were marriedout of state.

The 3rd Texas Court of Ap-peals in Austin ruled Friday thatthe state cannot appeal the di-vorce of Angelique Naylor andSabina Daly.

The two were married in Mas-sachusetts in 2004 and then re-turned home to Texas, wheresame-sex marriage is banned.

Farmers Branch mayor notseeking re-election

FARMERS BRANCH — A sub-urban Dallas mayor whose ef-forts to ban illegal immigrantsfrom renting housing drew inter-national attention is not seekinganother term.

Farmers Branch Mayor TimO’Hare says he wants to devotemore time to his family and tohis law practice.

More than 1,100 DWIarrests over holidays

AUSTIN — Troopers arrestedmore than 1,100 drivers in a DWIcrackdown during the Christmasand New Year’s holidays.

The Department of PublicSafety on Friday announced re-sults of the special enforcementprogram.

DPS said 1,106 people were ar-rested from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 oncharges of driving while intoxi-cated.

State panel reviews arsonexecution case

AUSTIN — The execution of aman for the fire deaths of histhree children is coming underrenewed scrutiny as a panelhears from arson scientists whohave studied evidence that sentCameron Todd Willingham to thedeath chamber seven years ago.

The Texas Forensic ScienceCommission is hearing from ex-perts that Willingham was con-victed with faulty evidence.

Algae blamed for LakeMeredith fish kill

LUBBOCK — Experts say afish kill at Lake Meredith that’sprompted Lubbock to put anodor-smothering chemical in citydrinking water is blamed on atoxic algae bloom.

As many as 20,000 gizzardshad were found dead last weekin Lake Meredith. Water fromLake Meredith is used by nearlya dozen communities.

I-30 just west of Dallasreopens after fiery wreck

DALLAS — A fiery accidentjust west of downtown Dallasclosed Interstate 30 for hours andleft at least four people hurt.

Police were diverting trafficafter the wreck just before 2 a.m.Friday on eastbound I-30 involv-ing a gasoline tanker truck andat least one car. Westbound I-30reopened just before daybreak.

Victims appear to have non-life threatening injuries.

— Compiled from AP reports

Sisters who will sharekidney out of prison

PEARL, Miss. — Sisters Jamieand Gladys Scott left prison onFriday for the first time in 16years, yelling, “We’re free!” and“God bless y’all!” as they pulledaway in a silver SUV. That free-dom, though, comes with an un-usual condition: Gladys has oneyear to donate a kidney to herailing sister.

Now, with their life sentencesfor armed robbery suspended,their future is uncertain.

Falling blackbirds air outconspiracy theories

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Themoon turns blood red. The earthshakes. Soldiers die in wars. Andthe world keeps spinning, eventhough these events fit neatly in-to apocalyptic predictions.

So why, when swarms ofwinged creatures hit the dirt, dosome believe that the end of days

is near?

NYC overprepares for newsnow after blizzard mess

NEW YORK — New York Citycame out overprepared Friday

for a weak storm that deliveredjust a few inches of snow — notenough to plow in most placesand not likely enough for themayor to redeem himself from adisastrous response to a post-Christmas blizzard.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Anna Nicole Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, center, and his at-torneys leave a Los Angeles court on Thursday. Judge Robert Perry dismissed thedrug conspiracy conviction of Stern, who was Smith’s boyfriend and lawyer.

Photo by Reed Saxon | AP

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

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

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

The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Ave-nue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mailthezapatatimes.net

CONTACT US

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011 Zlocal PAGE 3A

ASSAULTNicolas Jaramillo Jr., 25,

was arrested and charged withassault causing family violence at7:40 a.m. Tuesday in the 2500block of Carla Street. He was tak-en to Webb County Jail, where hewas held in lieu of a $200 bond.

BURGLARYA 45-year-old man reported

around 8 p.m. Monday in the2200 block of Elm Street thatsomeone broke into his Suburbanand pickup. The victim told depu-ties the offender stole a walletand a handgun.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

Alberto Mendoza-Ochoa, 54,was arrested at 1:40 a.m. Jan. 1while walking in the middle of theroadway of the corner of 10thStreet and Villa Avenue.

He was charged with public in-toxication and taken to Zapata Re-gional Jail, where he was releasedto later appear in court.

TERRORISTIC THREATDaniel A. Lozano, 34, was ar-

rested and charged with resistingarrest, terroristic threat against apublic servant and terroristic threatfamily violence at 7:45 a.m. Jan. 1in the 1400 block of First Street.The man was taken to Zapata Re-gional Jail, where he was held inlieu of a combined $30,000 bond.

THEFTDeputies responded to a

theft call at 2:48 p.m. Jan. 1 atZapata County Cemetery, off FM496.

The 41-year-old female com-plainant told officials that some-one stole a wreath from a gravesite. The item was valued at$350.

A 62-year-old man calleddeputies at 9:14 a.m. Jan. 1 fromAlejandrenas Road, west of FM2687.

He told officials that someonestole several items from the oilrig area. Items missing were ce-ment sacks, pipe wrenches andgas monitors, among other as-sorted tools.

THE BLOTTER

Two men are facing fe-lony charges after depu-ties say they stole cattlevalued at thousands of dol-lars.

Joel Angeles-Olvera, 20,and Fernando Reyes, 45,were arrested and chargedwith theft after they alleg-edly stole cattle Jan. 2from a ranch located aquarter mile south of Za-pata.

Both men were taken toZapata Regional Jail,where they each were held

in lieu of $25,000 bonds.Deputies responded to a

theft call at 12:16 p.m. atUribe Ranch, off SouthU.S. 83.

A tick inspector in thearea noticed suspicious ac-tivity.

He saw a truck and atrailer out of place. Ac-cording to deputies, a wit-ness identified one of thealleged offenders.

The men were accused

of stealing four bovinesvalued at $16,000.

A further investigationled deputies to serve ar-rest warrants on the men.Angeles-Olvera was ar-rested Monday.

Reyes was taken intocustody the next day.

The owner recoveredthe cattle.

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

Men rustle upfelony theft charges

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

JOEL ANGELES-OLVE-RA: Arrested Mon-day, facing felonytheft charges.

FERNANDO REYES:Arrested Tuesday,faces felony theftcharges.

Deputies say two menallegedly stole motor vehi-cle accessories from a tireshop Dec. 28.

Sgt. Mario Elizondosaid the Zapata CountySheriff ’s Office received acall around 2 a.m. report-ing a theft in progress inan area near the intersec-tion of 23rd Avenue andAlamo Street.

Elizondo said the com-plainant told deputies thattwo men were seen taking

several mechanical itemsfrom a tire shop. Deputiesreceived informationabout the men fleeing thescene in a white sportutility vehicle.

Officials patrolled thevicinity of U.S. 83 and no-ticed a vehicle matchingthe description. Deputiespulled the vehicle overand talked to two menwho, officials say, hadquestionable items insidethe vehicle.

The people inside thevehicle were identified asZapata residents Eugenio

Pena IV, 30, and GilbertoSanchez, 33. They were ar-rested on theft charges af-ter a further investiga-tion. Deputies took bothmen to Zapata RegionalJail, where they eachwere held in lieu of$15,000 bonds.

Elizondo said the stolenitems — two engine headsand an engine compressor,among other items —were returned to the own-er.

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

Deputies catch menwith items inside car

EUGENIO PEÑA IV:Facing theftcharges after De-cember incident.

GILBERTO SANCHEZ:Accused in De-cember theft inci-dent.

Caller reports duoat tire shop

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

RISING STARS RECITAL

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Nancy Zhou, an 18-year-old violinist from the San Antonio Symphony, performs Caprices No. 7 and24 during the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra’s eighth annual Rising Stars Recital at the Laredo CivicCenter on Friday morning.

In an effort to betterrecognize Texas A&M In-ternational Universitystudents who embody“Dustdevil” spirit, twoTAMIU students will beselected by their peers as“Mr. and Ms. TAMIU” thisspring.

Jerry Alva, director ofStudent Affairs, whohelped students developthe initiative, explainedthe effort’s process andgoal.

“Our group workedhand-in-hand with vari-ous on-campus depart-ments and student organi-zations to develop a ‘Mr.and Ms. TAMIU.’ Studentsagreed from the inceptionthat this would not be acontest focused on appear-ance, but rather on twostudents who best exem-plify a commitment to theinstitution, and have aninterest in promoting theUniversity through aca-demic excellence, studentinvolvement and schoolpride,” Alva explained.

In the fall, studentswere nominated by facul-ty, staff or student organi-zations to participate inthe selection. Nomineescompleted an intensive in-terview process with auniversity-wide panel in-cluding alumni, faculty,staff and students. Six fi-nalists advanced to ballotselection. An online elec-tion takes place Jan. 24-Jan. 26 for enrolled stu-dents.

Student finalists select-ed are Alvaro Aguirre, ju-nior political science ma-jor; Andrea Beattie, se-nior political science;Diana Galindo, juniorcommunication disordersmajor; Triana Gonzalez,junior English major;

Juan Ortiz, junior busi-ness administration ma-jor and Erik Villa, sopho-more business adminis-tration major.

The election of “Mr.and Ms. TAMIU” will co-incide with the launch ofTAMIU’s Spirit Week,dedicated to the celebra-tion of student life andschool pride.

Students elected for thehonor will be announcedin a ceremony on Jan. 27between men’s and wom-en’s Dustdevil basketballgames in the Kinesiology-Convocation Building.

Mr. and Ms. TAMIU is‘new tradition’ at school

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The election of “Mr. and Ms.TAMIU” will coincide with thelaunch of TAMIU’s Spirit Week,dedicated to the celebration ofstudent life and school pride.

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

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

Every two years, poli-ticians of both par-ties pledge on the

Tuesday after the firstMonday in November tostop wasteful spendingand make governmentwork harder for the healthand welfare of the nation.But sometime after noonon the third day of Janu-ary, many of them slip intothe mindset of the addict.

Just one more earmark.A balanced budget, nextyear. This is our last omni-bus spending bill, I swear.

More than temptation isat work here — even morethan the glad-handing ofspecial interest lobbyistsand the donations of politi-cal action committees. Abelief system prevails onCapitol Hill that holds asits primary article of faiththat every district, everystate, indeed every personcan and should get backfrom Congress in the formof perks and benefits morethan they send to Wash-ington in taxes.

To any person of soundmind, such a belief is obvi-ously implausible. It’s thepolitical equivalent of aPonzi scheme, promisingendless returns on limitedinvestments. Eventuallythe money runs out, evenin Washington, where theresults of eight years of fis-cal profligacy were met in2009 with two additionalyears of more — morespending, more deficits,more quantitative easing.

The United States hasbeen on a 10-year benderunder Tom DeLay Republi-cans and Nancy PelosiDemocrats, stumblingdown a path of debt mone-tization and currency de-valuation well-trodden byeconomic invalids in theThird World, Argentinaand, lately, Greece. Will theresolutions for sobriety in2011 meet with any moresuccess than in years past?

ChangesThere’s good reason for

pessimism. In December,the bipartisan NationalCommission on Fiscal Re-sponsibility and Reform is-sued its recommendations— sort of. The 10-year planto put the United Statesback on sound fiscal foot-ing received support from11 of the commission’s 18members. That was threeshort of the 14 votes need-ed to officially endorse theblueprint and send it toCongress.

“After all the talk about

debt and deficits,” thecommission’s final reportstates starkly, “it is longpast time for America’sleaders to put up or shutup. The era of debt denialis over.”

One month later, its rec-ommendations are largelyshelved and forgotten,along with those of the Bi-partisan Policy Center’sDebt Reduction Task Forceand the Peterson-PewCommission on Budget Re-form, which also issuedplans.

Still, there’s some causefor optimism. The fact thatthree bipartisan groupsthat include quite a fewpolitical heavyweights —Paul Volcker, Alice Rivlin,Tom Coburn, Max Baucusand Paul Ryan, to name afew — are working on se-rious debt-reduction plansis a sobering sign. Our $14trillion national debthasn’t gone away. Neitherwill the efforts of sensiblepeople to find commonground in promoting gov-ernmental abstinence. TheNovember election was areferendum on the sizeand scope of government.A Congress infused withthe temperate effects of in-dependent voters and teaparty members who deter-mined its results may actdifferently from previousones.

Old habitsDuring the lame-duck

session, Democratsbrought forward a $1.2 tril-lion omnibus spending billwith 6,630 earmarks, manyof them from Republicanswho had just pledged to gocold turkey. You could seesome of the old spenderswavering. You could readtheir minds: “Just onemore.”

In the end, Republicans— including Sens. JohnCornyn and John Thune— repudiated their ownearmarks and stopped thespending bill.

“Old habits aren’t easyto break,” Senate Republi-can Leader Mitch McCon-nell, a recovering ear-marker, explained on thefloor of the Senate. “It’stime for some of us inWashington to show in ev-ery way possible that wemean what we say aboutspending.”

Admission is the firststep on the road to fiscalrecovery. But it’s still fartoo early to tell whetherthe era of debt denial istruly over.

(E-mail Jonathan Gur-witz at jgurwitz@express-news.net)

COLUMN

Spendingaddicts takepledge again

By JONATHAN GURWITZSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Times doesnot publish anonymousletters.

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

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

We want to assure our

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

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

ing or gratuitous abuse isallowed.

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

These are tough timesfor state govern-ments. Huge deficits

loom almost everywhere,from California to NewYork, from New Jersey toTexas.

Wait — Texas? Wasn’tTexas supposed to bethriving even as the restof America suffered?Didn’t its governor de-clare, during his re-elec-tion campaign, that “wehave billions in surplus”?Yes, it was, and yes, hedid. But reality has nowintruded, in the form of adeficit expected to run ashigh as $25 billion overthe next two years.

Taxing beliefsAnd that reality has im-

plications for the nationas a whole. For Texas iswhere the modern conser-vative theory of budgeting— the belief that youshould never raise taxesunder any circumstances,that you can always bal-ance the budget by cuttingwasteful spending — hasbeen implemented mostcompletely. If the theorycan’t make it there, itcan’t make it anywhere.

How bad is the Texasdeficit? Comparing budgetcrises among states istricky, for technical rea-sons. Still, data from theCenter on Budget and Pol-icy Priorities suggest thatthe Texas budget gap isworse than New York’s,about as bad as Califor-nia’s, but not quite up toNew Jersey levels.

The point, however, isthat just the other dayTexas was being touted asa role model (and still is

by commentators whohaven’t been keeping upwith the news). It was thestate the recession suppos-edly passed by, thanks toits low taxes and business-friendly policies. Its gov-ernor boasted that its bud-get was in good shapethanks to his “tough con-servative decisions.”

Few unionsOh, and at a time when

there’s a full-court presson to demonize public-sec-tor unions as the sourceof all our woes, Texas isnearly demon-free: Lessthan 20 percent of public-sector workers there arecovered by union con-tracts, compared with al-most 75 percent in NewYork.

So what happened tothe “Texas miracle” manypeople were talking abouteven a few months ago?

Part of the answer isthat reports of a reces-sion-proof state weregreatly exaggerated. It’strue that Texas job losseshaven’t been as severe asthose in the nation as awhole since the recessionbegan in 2007. But Texashas a rapidly growingpopulation — largely, sug-gests Harvard’s EdwardGlaeser, because its liber-al land-use and zoningpolicies have kept housingcheap. There’s nothingwrong with that; but giventhat rising population,

Texas needs to create jobsmore rapidly than the restof the country just to keepup with a growing workforce.

And when you look atunemployment, Texasdoesn’t seem particularlyspecial: Its unemploymentrate is below the nationalaverage, thanks in part tohigh oil prices, but it’sabout the same as the un-employment rate in NewYork or Massachusetts.

Budget magicWhat about the budget?

The truth is that the Tex-as state government hasrelied for years on smokeand mirrors to create theillusion of sound financesin the face of a serious“structural” budget deficit— that is, a deficit thatpersists even when theeconomy is doing well.When the recessionstruck, hitting revenue inTexas just as it did every-where else, that illusionwas bound to collapse.

The only thing that letGov. Rick Perry get away,temporarily, with claimsof a surplus was the factthat Texas enacts budgetsonly once every two years,and the last budget wasput in place before thedepth of the economicdownturn was clear. Nowthe next budget must bepassed — and Texas mayhave a $25 billion hole tofill. Now what?

Given the completedominance of conserva-tive ideology in Texas pol-itics, tax increases are outof the question. So it hasto be spending cuts.

Yet Perry wasn’t lying

about those “tough con-servative decisions”: Tex-as has indeed taken ahard, you might say bru-tal, line toward its mostvulnerable citizens.Among the states, Texasranks near the bottom ineducation spending perpupil, while leading thenation in the percentageof residents withouthealth insurance. It’s hardto imagine what will hap-pen if the state tries toeliminate its huge deficitpurely through furthercuts.

I don’t know how themess in Texas will end upbeing resolved. But thesigns don’t look good, ei-ther for the state or forthe nation.

Cuts, balancesRight now, triumphant

conservatives in Washing-ton are declaring thatthey can cut taxes andstill balance the budget byslashing spending. Yetthey haven’t been able todo that even in Texas,which is willing both toimpose great pain (by itsstinginess on health care)and to shortchange the fu-ture (by neglecting educa-tion). How are they sup-posed to pull it off nation-ally, especially when theincoming Republicanshave declared Medicare,Social Security and de-fense off limits?

People used to say thatthe future happens first inCalifornia, but these dayswhat happens in Texas isprobably a better omen.And what we’re seeingright now is a future thatdoesn’t work.

COLUMN

As Texas goes, so goes the US

“PAUL KRUGMAN

Next month, youwill be able to buythe single-volume

NewSouth Edition ofMark Twain’s “The Ad-ventures of Tom Sawyer”and “Adventures of Huck-leberry Finn.” It differsfrom other editions be-cause “nigger” — as usedby Tom and Huck — into“slave.” Also changed: “In-jun” becomes Indian.

The editor said hewants to make these clas-sics readable again — foryoung readers and foranyone who is hurt by the

use of an epithet used inMissouri in the 1830s and1840s, which is when bothbooks are set. We are hor-rified, and we think mostreaderswill be, too. Thetrouble isn’t merely adul-terating Twain’s text. It’salso adulterating social,economic and linguistichistory. Substituting theword “slave” makes itsound as though all the of-fense lies in the “n-word”and has nothing to dowith slavery.

There is no way to“clean up” Twain withoutdoing irreparable harm tothe truth of his work.

EDITORIAL

Changes badfor Twain

NEW YORK TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTJOB POSTING

Position: Instructional Assistant for Special Education Program

Salary: Minimum Maximum$15,932.00 $23,891.00

Pay Grade: Instructional Support Pay RangesPay Grade 2

Minimum Duty Days: 187 Days

Minimum Requirements: 1. Possess a high school diploma or it’s equivalent and2. Meet one of the following qualifications

A. Completion of an associate’s degree or higher degree from an accredited institution.

B. Possess 48 semester credit hours from anaccredited institution.

C. Successful completion of a rigorous trainingprogram approved by the Superintendent.

Preferred Qualifications: Some experience working with children with special needs

Special Demonstrated ability to work effectively and harmoniously withKnowledge/Skills: administrators and other staff.

General knowledge of teaching and interacting with special needs children.Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both in written form and orally.Possess technical skills necessary to perform essential job requirements, such as adequate knowledge of subject matter, sound teaching methodology and effective discipline techniques. Treat all people with dignity and respect.

Deadline for Applying: Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Applications may be obtained from:

Human Resources DepartmentP.O. Box 158

17th and CarlaZapata, Texas 78076

(956) 765-6858 Fax (956) 765-5940

We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, national origin, age, reli-gion, sex, marital or veteran status, the presence of a medical condition, disability or any

other legally protected status.An Equal Opportunity Employer

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES State SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

AUSTIN — When AmberFarrelly Elliott was 9, hermother enrolled her in anAmerican Sign Languageclass in hopes of keepingthe inquisitive youngsteroccupied during summervacation.

The language immedi-ately fascinated Elliott,whose hearing is not im-paired. Every day she ea-gerly rode her bike to theclass in a church in herhometown of Lawton, Ok-la., a military town nearFort Sill. Elliott studiedsigns at night to keep upwith her adult classmates.

That summer began anaffinity for sign languageand deaf culture that El-

liott calls upon today as acriminal defense lawyer inTravis County. Licensed topractice law for just over ayear, she fills a niche at theTravis County Courthousewith her ability to directlycommunicate with deaf cli-ents instead of indirectlythrough an interpreter.

“It’s a beautiful lan-guage,” Elliott said. “It’sjust so expressive. And cap-tivating. When you seesomebody sign, you can’thelp as a hearing person tolook and be like, ‘Wow, theyare communicating withtheir hands, and they un-derstand each other.”’

Court officials say theyassign Elliott to representall the deaf people in Tra-vis County who have beenarrested for Class A and Bmisdemeanors and can’t af-ford to hire their own law-yer. That amounts to abouttwo or three defendants amonth, said court adminis-trator Debra Hale. Certifiedinterpreters still translatefor those clients duringmost official court hear-ings. Because of her limit-ed experience, the localjudges have not yet ap-proved Elliott, 34, to repre-sent court-appointed clientsin felony cases.

County Court-at-LawJudge Nancy Hohengartensaid Elliott’s ability to com-municate with clients intheir language further en-

sures defendants will re-ceive fair representation.

“I think she’s a verygood lawyer,” Hohengartensaid. “She has good com-munication skills and per-haps that’s in part becauseof her (sign language)training.”

County officials estimatethere are 50,000 to 60,000deaf and hard of hearingpeople in the Austin metro-politan area. That’s one ofthe largest populations inthe country, according todeaf advocates and countyofficials, who believe it ispartly because of the pres-ence of the Texas Schoolfor the Deaf and govern-ment agencies that offerservices to deaf people.

Paul Rutowski, presidentof the Texas Association of

the Deaf, an advocacy or-ganization, said some deafpeople have been skepticalof Elliott, worrying thatshe is using her sign lan-guage skills to “patronizethe deaf community.”

Rutowski does not be-lieve that is the case.

“I value Amber’s contri-butions to her professionas we all benefit from herexpertise,” he wrote. “Herknowing sign language isreally a benefit to us andeveryone else. She has agood personality and is agood person.”

Elliott is 5 feet tall witha high-pitched voice. Butthat can be misleading,said Alexandra Gauthier,the president of the AustinCriminal Defense LawyersAssociation, who has

worked closely with Elliott. “She’s a little pit bull” in

court, Gauthier said. “She’salso whip-smart and ex-tremely well-organized.”

Elliott estimated she hasrepresented about 65 deafclients, most of them inTravis County and a few inWilliamson County, mostlyon misdemeanors.

She said that becausethe deaf community is sosmall, she takes steps toprotect their privacy, suchas not scheduling clients tocome to her office or tocourt at the same time.

In many of the cases, shesaid, prosecutors have dis-missed charges after Elliottconvinced them that therewas no crime and simply amisunderstanding betweenhearing and deaf people.

Lawyer’s signing skills aids her deaf clientsBy STEVEN KREYTAK

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMANAMBER ELLIOTT:The only attorneyin Austin fluent insign language.

AUSTIN — Illegal immi-gration isn’t on the shortlist of issues Texas sheriffsgave this year’s Legisla-ture, but it could end up be-coming a new priority.

Texas has 254 sheriffs,and while opinions varyabout whether illegal im-migration should be theirproblem, some Republicansare pushing measures thatwon’t give them a choice.More than a dozen bills tar-geting illegal immigrationawait the Legislature whenit convenes Tuesday, whenthe GOP will enter with ahistoric conservative su-permajority in the House.

One bill would requirepolice to ask drivers with-out identification if they’rein the country legally. An-other would cut off funds todepartments that don’t en-force immigrations laws.

“It’s split among my col-leagues on whether weshould be out here juststopping individuals with-out probable cause, andquestioning them on theirimmigration status,” saidTravis County Sheriff GregHamilton, who believes theproposals invite profiling.

On Thursday, El PasoCounty Sheriff RichardWiles planned to join immi-grant advocacy groups atthe Capitol, where they’reexpected to denounce billstargeting illegal immi-grants as bad for the Texaseconomy and constitution-ally unworkable.

In Arizona, a new lawpassed last year requirespolice officers, when en-forcing other laws, to ques-tion the immigration statusof those they suspect are inthe country illegally. TheObama administration fil-ed a lawsuit to block por-tions of the law, and theoutcome remains pendingin federal court.

Many Texas sheriffsalong the border, long vocalabout being understaffedand underfunded on theedge of Mexico’s violentdrug war, oppose the mea-sures as another drain ontheir deputies. They andsheriffs in Houston andSan Antonio also worryabout profiling.

Others don’t see it as animposition, and maybe anecessity. In Fort BendCounty, which includesHouston’s conservative sub-urbs, Sheriff Milton Wrightsaid he would support lawsrequiring enforcement im-

migration laws if the feder-al government won’t.

“If they’re not going todo it, then we need to,” hesaid.

Arizona’s new law leftTexas facing unavoidablequestions. Texas has an es-timated 1.6 million illegalimmigrants, second only toCalifornia, and Republi-cans control every state-wide office. Gov. Rick Perryhas said he doesn’t supportTexas adopting a law iden-tical to Arizona’s, while atthe same time praising thatstate’s initiative for takingon the illegal immigrationproblem.

Texas lawmakers havefiled immigration bills be-fore, only to see them with-er. Deep ties Texas has toMexico are as much cultur-al as economic, and leadingbusiness groups in thestate oppose tough crack-down measures.

But between the newGOP supermajority in the

House and Arizona’s suc-cess, outnumbered TexasDemocrats aren’t willing tomake wagers on the chanc-es of the bills prevailingthis time.

“You’ve got a bunch ofnew Republicans who cam-paigned with some very in-flammatory rhetoric, andthey now find themselvesin charge,” said Democrat-ic Rep. Rafael Anchia. “I’msure they’re going to wantto deliver for some of theirconstituencies.”

So important is the issueto state Rep. Debbie Riddlethat she camped outsidethe clerk’s window to en-sure her get-tough immi-gration bills would be firstin line. State Sen. Dan Pa-trick filed a bill that wouldrequire police to ask any-one without an ID whetherthey’re in the country ille-gally, but the Houston-areatalk radio host says hismeasure affords officer dis-cretion. For instance, hesaid an officer could choosenot to arrest a minivan-driving mom who is an ille-gal immigrant.

Patrick, who visited Ari-

zona to see its new law inaction, said the possibilityof legal challenges is nobarrier.

“Too many people wantto duck and cover and burytheir heads in the sand,”Patrick said. “This is an is-sue we have to stand tallon. Republicans have tostand together.”

In most Texas counties,a suspect’s legal status be-comes an issue only ifthey’re booked into jail.Their fingerprints are runthrough a Homeland Secu-rity database, and peoplewho are flagged are re-ferred to federal immigra-tion agents.

Harris County was thefirst place in the nation totry the federal program,called Secure Communi-ties. But that’s about theextent that Sheriff AdrianGarcia wants to be in-volved in immigration en-forcement.

Sheriffs watching immigration billsBy PAUL J. WEBERASSOCIATED PRESS

REP. LAMAR SMITH:Part of new ap-proach to immi-gration.

SÁBADO 8 DE ENEROLAREDO — Camine

para prevenir el suicidio alunirse a la Out of the Dar-kness Community Walk en elCampus Fort McIntosh delLaredo Community College.La inscripción es gratuita apartir de las 8:30 a.m. Lacaminata iniciará a las 9:30a.m. Se aceptarán Doancio-nes.

LAREDO — El equipode baloncesto femenil de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity recibe a St. Edward’sUniversity a las 2 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dó-lares. Visite godustdevils.compara más información.

LAREDO — El equipode baloncesto varonil de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity recibe a St. Edward’sUniversity a las 4:30 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dó-lares. Visite godustdevils.compara más información.

NUEVO LAREDO — Jó-venes del Colectivo Amorfotendrán el día de hoy sus ta-lleres de Skate, Graffiti, Stre-et Art, Innovación Musical,Serigrafía, Teatro Callejero,Dibujos con Gis, Fotografía yRincón de Lectura y Cosplaydel club de anime YakusokuNo Sekai, a partir de las 12p.m. en la Maquila Creativa-Espacio de Artes y Oficios,Av. Eva Sámano 1501, colonia20 de Noviembre, antes Ma-quila Cives, del Parque Indus-trial Longoria. Entrada libre.

NUEVO LAREDO —Hoy a la 1 p.m., ASEDUNEhará entrega de juguetes quefueron regalados y donadospor ciudadanos de Nuevo La-redo y Laredo Texas en laColonia ITAVU, junto a la Co-lonia Palmares. Habrá unshow de muppets, mimos yrefrigerios, dulces y piñatas.

LUNES 10 DE ENEROLAREDO — Únase al

Laredo Community Collegepara una recepción de aper-tura para DigiArt 3, con tra-bajos de estudiantes y maes-tros de los programas deComputer Aided Drafting yDesign Technology Program,a las 10:30 a.m. en la Biblio-teca Yeary del Campus FortMcIntosh de LCC. La entradaes gratuita y abierta al públi-co en general.

MARTES 11 DE ENEROLAREDO — Hal’s Lan-

ding inicia hoy el segundoaño de “una campaña de re-caudación de fondos al mes”en beneficio del South TexasFood Bank (6510 Arena Ro-ad), de 7 p.m. a la mediano-che. La música estará a car-go de Jus-B-Cuz. La entradageneral es de 10 dólares porpersona. Adquiera sus bole-tos llamando al (956) 726-3120 ó (956) 324-2432.

JUEVES 13 DE ENEROLAREDO — El equipo

de baloncesto femenil de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity recibe a Newman Uni-versity a las 5:30 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dó-lares. Visite godustdevils.compara más información.

LAREDO — El equipode baloncesto varonil de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity recibe a St. Edward’sUniversity a las 8 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dó-lares. Visite godustdevils.compara más información.

VIERNES 14 DE ENEROLAREDO — Juego de

Hockey, los Laredo Bucks re-ciben a Rio Grande Valley Ki-ller Bees a las 7 p.m. en La-redo Energy Arena.

SÁBADO 15 DE ENEROLAREDO — El equipo

de baloncesto femenil de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity recibe a OklahomaPanhandle State University alas 2 p.m. La entrada generales de 5 dólares. Visite go-dustdevils.com para más in-formación.

Agendaen Breve

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 8 DE ENERO DE 2011

AUSTIN — El aluviónconservador que recorreTexas podría generar unaserie de reformas que asig-narían a la policía fun-ciones tradicionales del ser-vicio de inmigración. Y laidea no entusiasma dema-siado a muchos de los inte-resados.

La policía tejana pareceestar dividida en torno a laposibilidad de que se le pi-da que combata a los indoc-umentados. Y esa es unaposibilidad real, ya que haymás de una docena deproyectos de ley que daríana la policía mayores re-sponsabilidades en el áreade inmigración.

Los republicanos gozande mayoría absoluta en lalegislatura tejana tras susvictorias en las eleccionesde noviembre y promuevenproyectos como uno quecontempla que la policía lepregunte a los conductoresque no tengan identifica-ción si están en el país le-galmente. Otro reduciríalos fondos que asigna el es-tado a un departamentopolicial si éste no hacecumplir las leyes de inmi-gración.

“Estamos divididos conmis colegas en torno a sicorresponde que detenga-mos a individuos sin razónalguna y les preguntamospor su status migratorio”,comentó el alguacil del con-dado de Travis Greg Hamil-ton, quien considera queese tipo de iniciativas gen-erarán discriminación.

El sheriff, o jefe de lapolicía, de El Paso CountyRichard Wiles anunció suparticipación en una movil-

ización frente al capitolioestatal para denunciarproyectos de ley enfocadosen los indocumentados, queson descriptos como perju-diciales para la economíatejana y difíciles de llevar ala práctica.

Una ley aprobada en Ari-zona exige a la policía que,al hacer cumplir las leyes,investigue el status migra-torio de personas que sos-pecha podrían estar en elpaís ilegalmente. El gobier-no de Barack Obama acu-dió a los tribunales paratratar de impedir que algu-nos elementos de esa leyentren en vigor.

Texas tiene 254 condadoscon departamentos y algua-ciles propios, muchos delos cuales se quejan de queno tienen suficiente person-al para desempeñar susfunciones en un corredorfronterizo afectado por laviolencia del narcotráfico yse oponen a que se les asig-nen nuevas funciones. Aligual que sus colegas deHouston y San Antonio, te-men que iniciativas de esetipo generen discrimina-ción.

Otros, en cambio, opinanque el desempeño de fun-ciones del servicio de inmi-gración es una necesidad.En el condado de FortBend, que incluye algunossuburbios conservadoresde Houston, el sheriff Mil-ton Wright dice que apoya-rá el que sus hombres com-batan a los indocumenta-dos si el gobierno nacionalno lo hace.

“Si ellos no lo van a hac-er, tenemos que hacerlo no-sotros”, expresó.

Se calcula que en Texashay unos 1,6 millones de in-documentados, más que en

ningún otro estado, con ex-cepción de California, y losrepublicanos controlan to-das las dependencias delgobierno. El gobernadorRick Perry ha dicho que noapoya una legislación comola de Arizona, pero que leparece bien que el estadotome cartas en el asunto delos indocumentados.

En el pasado hubo in-iciativas de este tipo que noprosperaron en Texas, esta-do que tiene profundos la-zos culturales y económi-cos con México y donde im-portantes gruposempresariales se hanopuesto a medidas represi-vas hacia los indocumenta-dos.

Pero la situación hacambiado ahora que los re-publicanos tienen una may-oría absoluta en la legisla-tura y que la ley de Arizo-na genera iniciativassimilares en el resto delpaís.

La representante DebbieRiddle considera que elasunto es tan importanteque acampó afuera del cap-itolio para asegurarse deque sus proyectos sobre losindocumentados recibíanprioridad. El senador esta-tal Dan Patrick presentó unproyecto por el cual la pol-icía deberá preguntarle acualquier persona que notenga identificación si estáen el país legalmente. Diceque no será obligatorio ha-cerlo, sino que quedará adiscreción del agente. Se-gún pinta él las cosas, elagente puede decidir no ar-restar a una mujer que lle-va a sus hijos a algún sitioen una minivan y que re-sulta ser una indocumenta-da.

En la mayoría de los con-dados de Texas, la policíaaverigua el status migrato-rio de una persona solo sies arrestada por alguna ra-zón.

Texas analiza leyde inmigración

Alguaciles del Estado tienen opinionesencontradas sobre las reformas.

POR PAUL J. WEBERASSOCIATED PRESS Soldados mexicanos tu-

vieron un ocupado 2010con decomisos de aproxi-madamente 96 toneladasde marihuana, más de 800personas arrestadas, másde 3,500 armas de fuego y1,600 granadas confisca-das, junto con 940,000 ron-das de municiones, y lalista sigue con bazookas,vehículos armados, mil-lones de pesos y aproxi-madamente medio millónde dólares.

Ese fue el resultado dedecomisos obtenidos porsoldados con la OctavaZona Militar ubicada enReynosa durante el 2010,de acuerdo a un comuni-cado de prensa dado a co-nocer por el Ejército Mex-icano.

Esta zona tiene comoobjetivo las actividadessospechosos a lo largo dela frontera norte de Ta-maulipas, incluyendo aNuevo Laredo.

“Con estas acciones, elpersonal militar involu-crada en la operaciónconjunta Nuevo León-Ta-maulipas, continúa com-batiendo a las organiza-ciones criminales en to-dos sus niveles, sea enáreas urbanas como ru-rales”, indica el comuni-cado de SeDeNa, agregan-do que oficiales militaresestán comprometidos atraer la paz que la socie-dad merece y demanda.

La Secretaría de la De-fensa Nacional dio a co-nocer el comunicado di-ciendo que los decomisosson el resultado final dela estrategia contra elnarcotráfico y el crimenorganizado.

Soldados decomisaron96.34 toneladas de mari-huana durante el 2010. Of-iciales de SeDeNa creenque la organización detráfico de drogas pudierahaber hecho 48, 171,557dosis. Oficiales del ejérci-to creen que distribui-dores pudieran haber ob-tenido 500 dosis de unkilogramo. Si las drogashubieran llegado a lascalles, el narcótico pudie-ra haber sido vendido por100 pesos la dosis. Ofi-ciales de SeDeNa valua-ron la marihuana enaproximadamente 4, 817,155,760 pesos, ó casi 395millones de dólares.

Soldados también eli-minaron 200.16 libras decocaína de las calles. Dis-tribuidores pudieran hab-

er creado 90,790 dosis, ca-da dosis con un valoraproximado en la calle de150 pesos. Oficiales deSeDeNa estima que el va-lor total de la cocaína esde 13, 618,500 pesos.

También en 2010, solda-dos recuperaron 1,342 ve-hículos.

Un buen indicador deque la guerra de las dro-gas pudiera escalar es eldecomiso de 94 vehículosarmados. Autoridades yarmas también son partede la batalla actual.

Soldados decomisaron3,540 armas de fuego,1,684 granadas y 25 bazoo-kas. Oficiales también de-comisaron 941,132 muni-ciones, junto con 34,359clips para municiones.Los calibres no estuvie-ron disponibles al mo-mento de cierre de la ed-ición.

Los decomisos de efec-tivo variaron entre losmillones de pesos ademásdel dinero en dólares. Sol-dados confiscaron 3,104,226.40 pesos y 583,163dólares.

De acuerdo a las esta-dísticas de SeDeNa, solda-dos arrestaron a 864 per-sonas en relación con losdecomisos en el 2010.

Cuando se trata de lu-char contra la guerra delas drogas, la colabora-ción entre México y auto-ridades policíacas de EUpudo ayudar, dijo el Inves-tigador Joe E. Baeza, voc-ero del Departamento dePolicía de Laredo.

“Cualquier interven-ción es una buena inter-vención pero hay muchomás trabajo por hacer”,agregó él.

“Ciertamente tratare-mos de hacer (nuestrotrabajo) para contrarres-tar la actividad del narco-tráfico”.

(Localice a César G. Ro-driguez en el 728-2568 ó encesar@lmtonline.com)

Ejércitopresentareporte

POR CÉSAR G. RODRÍGUEZTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

DECOMISOS POR SEDENA

201096 toneladas de marihuana3,540 armas de fuego 1,600 granadas 941,132 rondas de municiones25 bazookas94 vehículos armadosMás de 3 millones de pesos Aproximadamente medio millónde dólares;y, 864 personas arrestadas.Fuente: Sedena.gob

Una visión de futuro fuela propuesta general delGobierno del Estado a rep-resentantes de los mediosde comunicación reunidosen Ciudad Victoria conmotivo del Día del Period-ista.

El Gobernador EgidioTorre Cantú resumió losobjetivos de la administra-ción en materia de desar-rollo agropecuario, seguri-dad, generación de emple-os, medio ambiente, abastode agua potable, educa-ción, desarrollo social y vi-vienda.

“Creo que una de lasformas para que perdureny trasciendan los tiemposde las administracionesmunicipales y estatales escon la participación ciuda-dana”, dijo Torre.

Principalmente se traba-ja en crear un plan de co-laboración interinstitu-cional y entre los distintosórdenes de gobierno, paralograr el restablecimientode la paz.

Torre dijo que para estose cuenta con la colabora-ción de las autoridadesfederales.

Esta primera semana deactividades del nuevo go-bierno estatal está siendoutilizada para evaluar losproyectos de infraestructu-ra estratégica a la vez quelas distintas dependenciasde la administración estánadquiriendo un ritmo detrabajo antes de que deci-da realizar una gira porlos municipios del Estado.

Torre dijo que se esta-bleció un término de unpar de meses para que ca-da uno de los funcionarios

responsables presenten suvisión de los proyectos quese deben desarrollar.

Serán estas ideas lasque formen el Plan Estatalde Desarrollo, que se pon-drá a consideración de laciudadanía.

El Plan Estatal de De-sarrollo contempla la pla-neación de obras y proyec-tos para todo el periodo dela administración.

“Traemos planes, trae-mos programas, traemosequipo de trabajo y mu-chas ganas de salir ade-lante en beneficio de estaestado y de todos sus habi-tantes”, dijo Torre.

Agregó que apoyaráprincipalmente a laagroindustria para que losproductos del campo seanno solamente exportadossino aprovechados en lamisma entidad.

El Gobernador de Tamaulipas Egidio Torre Cantú, cuarto de izquierda a derecha, se reunió con repre-sentantes de los medios de comunicación durante la celebración del Día del Periodista, el 4 de enero.Ahí destacó la importancia de trabajar unidos para el bien del estado.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Gobierno Estataldestaca a periodistas

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO — Amediados de diciembre laCámara Nacional deComercio, Servicios y Tu-rismo de Nuevo Laredocambió para convertirseen Centro México Em-prende

Fue el Gobierno Feder-al y la Secretaría de Econ-omía quienes realizaron lainversión de casi 4 mil-lones de pesos para re-sponder a las necesidadesde los empresarios locales.

El Presidente Nacionalde la Confederación deCámaras de Comercio(CONCANACO) Jorge En-rique Dávila Flores expli-có que el centro otorgaráservicios de atención inte-gral, ágil y oportuna, yaque cuenta con área deasesoría digital, aula decapacitación con pantallay proyector, módulos deatención y personal capac-itado.

En tanto, el Presidentede la Cámara de Come-rcio-Nuevo Laredo, Emilio

Girón Fernández de Jáu-regui dijo que con estecambio se podrán ofrecermás beneficios a los so-cios.

“México Emprendetiene como objetivo pro-mover y vincular progra-mas de desarrollo, así co-mo también ofrece el ser-vicios de capacitación aempresas e institucionesdel sector público y priva-do”, dijo Girón.

Aclaró que esto incluyecursos, talleres y diploma-dos con contenido y meto-dología para cubrir las ne-cesidades de los Empresa-rios-Emprendedores,además de asesoría fiscal,jurídica y financiera.

Las oficinas de CentroMéxico Emprende se en-cuentran en el segundo pi-so de la Cámara Nacionalde Comercio-Nuevo Lare-do en Álvaro Oregón #2244.

Crean ‘CentroEmprende’

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA EMILIO GIRÓN:Dijo se ofreceráncapacitaciones a empresarios.

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

AUSTIN — Starting thissemester, some Eanesschool district elementarystudents will be asked towrite book reports asshort as a Twitter message— 140 characters or fewer.And an Eanes middleschool principal is liftingthe ban on cell phones foreighth-graders.

No, it’s not Armaged-don, though the principaldid joke that the thoughtof giving middle schoolstudents access to cellphones during the schoolday was initially frighten-ing to some.

Carl Hooker, Eanes’ in-structional technology co-ordinator, said the changesare among the forward-looking innovations thedistrict is testing to bringmore technology into theclassroom.

Eanes is among districtsacross the country that areembracing technologyubiquitous among today’syoungsters, smart phones,PC tablets and anythingelse that keeps “Genera-tion Net” constantlyplugged in to online socialnetworks.

The Austin district ex-pects to deploy 20,000 net-books by spring break, andmany area district librar-ies check out iPads to stu-dents who receive lessonson “digital chalkboards.”

Some private schools,including the KhabeleSchool in downtown Aus-tin, have put laptops onthe school supply list. ButEanes is among the firstpublic districts encourag-ing teachers to make useof tech that has often beenforbidden, such as cellphones and social media,particularly in the earlygrades.

“There’s a lot of collab-oration and communica-tion” among teachers, ad-ministrators and technicalstaffers in this pilot stage,Hooker said. “I reallywanted to bring an open-ness to it, but we also needto be sure we are spendingour money wisely. As a re-sult, we’ve really tried tocreate an environmentwhere people feel comfort-able piloting things on asmall scale. And if theywork, then we look at ex-panding.”

West Ridge MiddleSchool Principal Karl Wag-goner said his decision toend the longtime ban oncell phones for eighth-graders was promptedmostly by “having a groupof teachers brave enough”

to test it out last semester,while the rest of the schooladhered to the rule thatcell phones be turned offand left in lockers.

The move is quite a de-parture from the studentconduct policies at othermiddle schools. In Austin,using a cell phone duringthe school day can resultin its confiscation. Austinofficials said it will consid-er whether to change therule this year.

Waggoner said about 80percent of students bring acell phone to school any-way, and most others haveone at home.

“I think a lot of schoolsare looking for ways totruly reach students wherethey are,” he said. “Cer-tainly, we have computersand smart (chalk) boards,but when you think aboutwhat’s growing in thepalms of their hands — it’stheir cell phones.”

West Ridge’s new cellphone privileges comewith several rules, Wag-goner said. The phonesmust remain on students’desks in silent mode andcan only be used for pur-poses allowed by their

teachers, such as addingtests to calendars, textingan answer to a questionasked in class or using theInternet for research.

Students are still expect-ed not to send or receivecalls or unauthorized textsat any time during theschool day, he said.

Waggoner, an iPhone us-er, said his appreciation ofthe device as a tool for re-search and organizationplayed a part in his deci-sion to allow their use.

“Would I have done itwithout using it myself ?Probably not,” he said.“Technology is scary andit freaks people out. Butwhat I’ve found is if youget in and start driving it,you lose that fear, you gainconfidence and you startusing it as a tool.”

Don Knezek , the CEOof the Oregon-based Inter-national Society for Tech-nology in Education, said,“This opening up of schoolnetworks to nontraditionalapplications and devices isclearly a trend that’s gain-ing momentum.”

Knezek, who also is anadvisory board member ofthe South by Southwest In-

teractive Conference ontechnology in educationthat is being held in Aus-tin in March, added: “Ithink schools are becom-ing much more aware thatthey can’t just outlawthese things and that, infact, it’s now their job tohelp teach kids how to usethem responsibly.”

In using new technolo-gy, Knezek said, teachersare finding that differenttypes of students are be-coming more engaged.Teachers using wikigroups for online discus-sions have often discov-ered that a whole differentgroup of students lead dis-cussions than in the class-room.

“We’re finding girls, inparticular, are much moreparticipatory in those set-tings,” he said.

At Eanes’ Forest TrailElementary School, read-ing specialist Alyson Col-lins will be asking herthird- and fifth-grade stu-dents to write book re-ports this semester in 140characters or fewer. Shesaid the students, who allsigned up for private,anonymous Twitter ac-

counts last semester, willbe asked to tweet on com-puters as part of a lessonon how to summarize.

“I was brainstorming onhow to use more technolo-gy in the classroom, andthat’s where Twitter camein,” Collins said.

Of course, students arestill writing traditionalbook reports, Collins said,but by employing Twitterin this case, as opposed tothe old technique of usingPost-it notes to get stu-dents to summarize anidea, Collins is taking ad-vantage of the excitementthat using social mediahas with today’s students.

“Some have alreadyseen their parents use it oreven had access to theirown personal accounts,but getting to do it togeth-er at school has been veryexciting for them,” shesaid. “ If it’s somethingthey’re excited about andengaged in, then it’s agreat avenue for teachingtraditional skills in an in-novative way.”

The new technologycomes with new responsib-ilities, Hooker said. Teach-ers who use social net-working with studentsneed to be trained onwhat’s considered appro-priate behavior. Changesto the Texas Educators’Code of Ethics that ad-dress electronic communi-cations with students tookeffect last month.

School connects to social networkingBy LAURA HEINAUER

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN The phones must remain on students’ desks in silent mode and can onlybe used for purposes allowed by their teachers, such as adding tests tocalendars, texting an answer to a question asked in class or using theInternet for research.

NEW YORK — The firstGuantanamo Bay detaineeto be convicted on a terror-ism charge in a U.S. civil-ian court has asked for le-niency at sentencing, cit-ing his “mistreatment” atan overseas CIA camp,prosecutors said in papersfiled Friday in which theyseek to keep him incarcer-ated for life.

The treatment of AhmedGhailani after his 2004 ar-rest was not mentioned athis trial last year, when hewas convicted by a jury inU.S. District Court in Man-hattan of one count of con-spiracy to destroy U.S.property and acquitted of280 other charges. Papersfiled Friday by defenselawyers were under seal,presumably because theydiscuss his treatment.

The charge of whichGhailani, 36, was convict-ed stemmed from the Au-gust 1998 bombings of twoU.S. embassies in Africa.The bombings killed 224people, including 12 Amer-icans.

The mention of Ghaila-ni’s post-arrest treatmentensures that his handlingby the CIA will be a focusof his sentencing, which isscheduled for Jan. 25.

Just before Ghailani’sfive-week trial began,Judge Lewis Kaplan ex-cluded the government’smain witness, saying pros-ecutors could not showthey would have learnedabout him were it not forinformation divulgedwhile Ghailani was held ata CIA camp where harshinterrogation tactics wereused. After the Sept. 11,2001, attacks, the CIA used10 harsh methods, includ-ing waterboarding, a formof simulated drowning.

The judge said prosecu-tors failed to show Ghaila-ni’s rough CIA interroga-tion played no role in get-ting the witness tocooperate.

Though many of the de-tails about Ghailani’streatment have been keptsecret, the defense di-vulged during a pretrialhearing that he was sub-jected to enhanced interro-gation techniques for 14hours over five days. Ghai-lani was arrested in Pakis-tan, was transferred toGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, in2006 and was moved toManhattan for trial in2009.

Prosecutors said in pa-

pers filed Friday that de-fense lawyers want lenien-cy on the grounds thatGhailani was “mistreated”while in CIA and Depart-ment of Defense custodyand because he providedinformation to U.S. author-ities.

They noted that the fed-eral probation office re-jected the defense requestin recommending that hebe sentenced to life in pris-on. The government saidthe probation report citedthe enormity of the crime,the painful impact thebombings continue to haveon the victims and “Ghai-lani’s lack of compassionfor human life.”

Prosecutors said intheir papers that Ghailaniparticipated in an “appall-ing crime.”

“The scale of this killingand maiming was tragical-ly vast,” they said.

They said Ghailani “op-erated at the very heart ofthe al-Qaida terror cellthat destroyed” the U.S.embassies in Kenya andTanzania and played ahands-on role in the finalpreparations for the at-tacks. They said he boughtessential bomb compo-nents, including fertilizerand more than 100 explo-sive detonators, andhelped load the compo-nents into a truck that hehad bought and that wasused to commit one of thebombings.

Defense lawyers main-tained that Ghailani was adupe who did not knowthe supplies were to beused in a terrorist attack.

A message left with oneof Ghailani’s lawyerswasn’t immediately re-turned Friday.

Guantanamodetainee asks

judge for leniencyBy LARRY NEUMEISTER

ASSOCIATED PRESS The mentionof Ghailani’spost-arresttreatmentensures thathis handlingby the CIAwill be a focusof hissentencing,which isscheduled forJan. 25.

PORT SULPHUR, La. —Federal and Louisiana offi-cials got into a heated argu-ment Friday over the clean-up of marshes during atour of an area that re-mains fouled 8-1/2 monthsafter the Deepwater Hori-zon rig explosion in theGulf of Mexico.

State and PlaqueminesParish officials took mediaon a boat tour of BaratariaBay, pointing out an areawhere oil continues to eataway at marshes and pro-tective boom is either ab-sent or has been gobbledup by the oil. The area thatreporters saw was 30 feet to100 feet wide in sections.No cleanup workers werethere when reporterstoured the area.

The marshes are criticalto the Louisiana coast be-cause they protect theshore from hurricanes andserve as a nursery for Gulfsea life.

“This is the biggest cov-er-up in the history ofAmerica,” PlaqueminesParish President Billy Nun-gesser told reporters, ges-turing with his gloved righthand, which was coveredin oil.

Nungesser was accompa-nied by Robert Barham, thesecretary of Louisiana’s De-partment of Wildlife andFisheries.

As the two were answer-ing questions from report-ers, representatives fromthe U.S. Coast Guard andthe National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administra-tion interrupted to pointout that a plan is being de-veloped to clean up themarshes. They also insistedthat the government hasnot abandoned the Gulf.

“Clearly there is oil herein the marsh but we are

working as a team to find abest way to clean it up,”said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr.Dan Lauer. “It’s a high pri-ority.”

The two sides then gotinto a heated argument,with Nungesser using pro-fanity.

“It’s like you’re in bedwith BP,” Nungesser toldthe Coast Guard and theNOAA officials.

Lauer responded that heunderstands the frustra-tion, but vowed that thecleanup would continue.“No one has ever said, ‘It’sover, we’re going home,”’he said.

Nungesser has been afrequent and outspokencritic of the cleanup effortever since oil from theApril 20 accident began in-filtrating the environmen-tally delicate Louisianacoast line.

Lauer and the NOAA of-ficial who tagged along onthe boat tour, Scott Zengel,said a cleanup plan was be-ing developed, though theygave few details. They alsocouldn’t explain why thereis no mechanism in placeto keep the situation fromgetting worse nearly sixmonths after the flow of oilto the sea was stopped.

A Coast Guard spokes-man, Lionel Bryant, said ina statement e-mailed to TheAssociated Press that rush-ing to clean oil from fragileareas can cause more harmthan good. He also pointedout that the treatment planbeing developed must beapproved by federal, stateand local officials.

BP spokesman DarenBeaudo said in an e-mailthat with the exception ofthe occasional tar ball,there is no evidence of sig-

nificant amounts of oilfrom the blown-out wellreaching the Louisianashoreline since the end ofAugust.

Cleanup efforts cause argumentBy HARRY R. WEBER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser holds up a glob of oil from the marsh shoreline of BayJimmy, which was severely impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as he tours the area withLouisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham in Plaquemines Parish, La., on Friday. Oilfrom the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in marshes off the coast of Louisiana, where officialsrenewed complaints Friday about the cleanup effort by BP and the federal government.

Photo by Gerald Herbert | AP

NEW YORK — Oil pric-es fell to about $88 per bar-rel Friday after the gov-ernment reported that theU.S. economy continues toadd jobs, although not atthe pace many expertshoped for.

The economy gained103,000 jobs in Decemberand figures for Octoberand November were re-vised upward. More jobsmeans more cars will jointhe morning commute,and that usually boostsgasoline consumption inthe U.S. But drivers are ex-pected to stay closer to

home this month as severewinter weather sweepsacross the country.

Retail pump prices add-ed less than a penny over-night to a new national av-erage of $3.08 per gallon,according to auto clubAAA, Wright Express andOil Price Information Ser-vice. A gallon of regular is11.5 cents more expensivethan a month ago andabout 37 cents higher thanit was last year.

Oil had been rising, in-creasing 22 percent fromLabor Day through theend of the year. It hit atwo-year high on the firsttrading day of 2011 beforedropping in the second

half of the week. Traders have grown

cautious in January. Formore than a year, oilstayed in a relatively sta-ble range of about $70 to$80 per barrel. It appearsthat even bullish forecastsfrom investment bankscouldn’t keep them buyingat above $90 per barrel.

"All this happened sofast, just a few weeks,"said Tom Kloza, chief ana-lyst at the Oil Price Infor-mation Service. "They hita speed bump."

Benchmark crude forFebruary delivery fell 30cents to settle at $88.03 perbarrel on the New YorkMercantile Exchange.

Oil falls to $88 per barrelBy CHRIS KAHN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Jesus Guadalupe Na-varro Jr. 17, passed awayTuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, inZapata.

Jesus is survived by hismother Eva Alaniz (Fred-dy Hernandez); father Je-sus G. Navarro; brotherBrian Lee Navarro; andby numerous Alaniz andNavarro families andmany friends.

Visitation hours wereheld Thursday, Jan. 6,2011, from noon to 2:30p.m. with a rosary at 1p.m. at Rose Garden Fu-neral Home. A funeralMass followed at 3 p.m. atOur Lady of LourdesCatholic Church. Commit-tal services followed at Za-pata County Cemetery.

Condolences may be

sent to the family atwww.rosegardenfuneral-home.com.

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

Jesus Guadalupe Navarro Jr.

Rosa A. Gray, 73,passed away Sunday, Jan.2, 2011, at Laredo MedicalCenter.

Ms. Gray is preceded indeath by her husbandTommy G. Gray Sr.; fa-ther Jose Amaya; motherMaria Gomes de Amaya;brother Ramon Amayaand a son Juan J. AmayaZ.

Ms. Gray is survivedby her sons Roberto (Nor-ma) Amaya, Joe H. (Ana)Gray and Tommy G. Jr.(Jennifer) Gray; daugh-ters Rosa E. (Ernesto Jr.)Elizalde and Connie S.Gray; grandchildren Ro-berto C. Amaya, Rachel D.Amaya, Krystyna A. Gray,Alexander J. Gray, Thom-as G. Gray III, William D.Gray, Sarah E. Gray, Da-vid Jr. (Jessica) Saldivar,Juan D. Saldivar, Rosie S.Saldivar, Enrique E. Eli-zalde and Elias E. Eli-zalde; great-grandchil-dren Daryana Saldivarand Samantha Saldivar;and by numerous neph-ews, nieces, and friends.

Visitation was Monday,Jan. 3, 2011, from 6 p.m. to

9 p.m. with a rosary at 7p.m. at Rose Garden Fu-neral Home.

The funeral processiondeparted at 9:30 a.m.Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, for a10 a.m. funeral Mass atOur Lady of LourdesCatholic Church. Com-mittal services followed atZapata County Cemetery.

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

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

Rosa A. Gray

Jose Jesus Rios, 77,passed away Sunday, Jan.2, 2011, at McAllen MedicalCenter.

Mr. Rios is preceded indeath by his parents Jesus(Amalia) Rios and brotherConrado Valadez Corona-do.

Mr. Rios is survived byhis wife Julianita Sanchez;brothers Zaragoza ValadezCoronado and Felipe(Blanca) Valadez Corona-do; sister Irma (Adolfo)Coronado de Ramos; uncleServando (Tina) Coronado;aunt Maria Elena Corona-

do de Salinas; and by nu-merous nephews, niecesand cousins .

Visitation hours wereTuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, from5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a ros-ary at 5:30 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.

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

Cremation arrange-ments were under the di-rection of Rose Garden Fu-neral Home Daniel A. Gon-zalez, funeral director, 2102Highway 83, Zapata.

Jose Jesus Rios

DALLAS — George Coneis among the legions ofpeople gathering the oralhistories of World War IIveterans before they die.

But Cone has taken hiscampaign a step further:He’s also interviewing theGermans who once tried tokill his dad on the battle-fields of Italy.

He realized that hewould never learn the com-plete story of what his fa-ther and his buddies facedat Anzio and Salerno with-out talking to German vet-erans who opposed them.

Cone estimates he hastaken the oral histories of20 German veterans, whoare linked to the evil of Hit-ler and the Nazi party re-sponsible for the genocideof 6 million Jews.

In Germany, Cone foundthe war a taboo subject.

“Their politicians saythe veterans have to allowthemselves to be calledmurderers,” he said.

Cone’s fascination with

World War II began whenhe was a child growing upin East Dallas during the1960s. He rummagedthrough his dad’s sockdrawer to find a shiny warmedal resting in a dark-blue box embossed with the

words “Legion of Merit.” Playing “army” with his

brothers stimulated fanta-sies about his dad’s combatexperience.

“I was 4 or 5 when myolder brother got this gamewith Army men,” he re-

called. “It included aspring-activated device thathurled a jeep up in the air.And I thought to myselfthat my dad had seenthings like that happen.”

Now 49, Cone reckons hehas taken the oral historiesof 50 or 60 World War II vet-erans, including many whoserved with his father inthe 36th Infantry Division.

Among the German vet-erans he interviewed wasGuenter Halm, now 86. Theartillery gunner won theKnight’s Cross — Germa-ny’s equivalent of the Med-al of Honor — after knock-ing out several tanks tostop an Allied advance dur-ing one battle.

Karl Koenig, in a tankcrew, was captured at Tu-nis and spent time as aprisoner of war. Christianvon Lucke commanded atank regiment at the battleof Salerno.

“Von Lucke foughtagainst my dad, and nowwe are friends,” said Cone,who still becomes emotion-al about his father’s war-time experiences.

Man gathers war historiesBy SCOTT K. PARKS

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Dallas oil industry executive George Cone is seen with WWII mem-orabilia he has collected as a result of his fascination with his fa-ther’s service with the 36th Infantry Division during WWII. Conehas interviewed between 40 and 50 veterans from the Texas 36th.In addition he has interviewed and has become friends with Ger-man WWII veterans who fought against his father.

Photo by Jim Mahoney/The Dallas Morning News | AP

“Individual (TAMIU) de-partments are currentlyevaluating their budgetsfor potential reductions.”

Although university offi-cials are not yet sure whatthey will cut or how muchwill have to be trimmedfor their budgets, JuanCastillo, TAMIU vice presi-dent of finance and admin-istration, wrote that TA-MIU does not plan to offera buyout agreement for itsfaculty members, some ofwhom earn more than$100,000 a year.

According to a TAMIU

briefing for the 82nd legis-lative session, which be-gins Tuesday, potential re-ductions to TAMIU’s bud-get range from $3.9 millionto, in a worst-case scena-rio, $29.2 million.

In 2010, TAMIU returnedabout $2.1 million to thestate through a flexiblehiring freeze, downsizingsummer school and elimi-nating the fund for de-ferred maintenance, uni-versity President Ray Kecksaid in late December.

Also, TAMIU has beenraising class sizes, elimi-

nating smaller classes andusing all large rooms forlecture halls, he said, add-ing that something has togive when student enroll-ment continues to growand additional facultymembers can’t be hired.

Meanwhile, state Sen.Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo,said she is “exceedinglyworried” about the project-ed state budget shortfalland its potential impact onpublic education.

“And the reason is wedon’t have the final (bud-get shortfall) figure,” she

said Tuesday. “Some say itcould be as high as $25 bil-lion. Some say $18 billion.”

As chair of the Senatehigher education commit-tee, Zaffirini said she plansto work with colleges anduniversities to try to makethe “least hurtful cuts.”

Also, she urged the high-er education community tospeak “forcefully” and en-sure its ideas and con-cerns are heard by law-makers.

(Nick Georgiou may bereached at 728-2582 or nge-orgiou@lmtonline.com)

TAMIU Continued from Page 1A

Commissioners Court dur-ing the budget process on-ly,” Martinez said.

State law requires for thecounty to only award payincentives to law enforce-ment, fire department,emergency medical servic-es, and water and sewer de-partments after the countybudget has been approved.

“It was brought to my at-tention that there weresome incentives we did notapprove because the moneywasn’t in the budget,” Mar-tinez said.

Most commissioners in-cluding Martinez approvedthe pay raises for the taxassessor/collector depart-ment in the last regularCommissioners Courtmeeting and are now ask-ing to rescind the item.

In other business, Velahas requested the approvalof video recordings for the

Commissioners Courtmeetings, providing thepublic access via ZapataCounty’s public website.

“Once we approve thevideo recordings of themeetings people can down-load them on the countywebsite and watch what isgoing on in the meetings,”Vela said. “It keeps trans-parency.”

The technology was in-stalled by County Treasur-er Romeo Salinas, but wasnever approved by formerCounty Judge RosalvaGuerra.

Also at the next meeting,the Zapata County Histori-cal Commission will wel-come three new members,Laura E. Ramirez, Ana Ka-trina Ramirez, and JoseLuis Elizondo, who willserve two-year terms.

Only CommissionersCourt has the authority to

appoint or reappoint mem-bers, Vela said.

The Commission consistsof seven or more members,Vela added.

“Once they are appoint-ed, the officers select theirofficers,” Vela said.

The purpose of the com-mission is to preserve thehistory of the county andwork together with the mu-seum, Vela said.

“They have the impres-sion that it’s all about theQuinceñiera Ball, and itsnot; it’s to preserve our his-tory and historical markersand get involved with themuseum,” Vela said.

Vela does not disagreewith the ball meant foryoung girls coming of age,he said, but would like tosee more done about thepreservation of the historyof the county by the com-mission.

“It’s a good thing they dofor these girls, but that’snot all it’s about,” Velasaid.

The commission willnow also be handling itsown bank account and willhave to give a report toCommissioners Court atthe end of the year, Velaadded.

The court will also dis-cuss the approval of all Za-pata County offices to beopen during lunch hoursand the approval of an ordi-nance relating to the licens-ing and regulation ofamusement redemptionmachines, also known asmaquinitas or eight-liners.

The meeting will be heldat the Zapata County court-house, 200 E. 7th, Suite 108,at 9 a.m.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguezmay be reached at (956)728-2557.)

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

dents are especially interest-ed in taking courses leadingto college degrees here athome.”

The construction of thecenter in Zapata Countyconfirmed Brown’s first im-pression that the communi-ty wants access to highereducation and job trainingthat is affordable and conve-nient, he said.

“The concept of an Ad-vance Education Centerworking with multiple uni-versities, colleges, publicand private sector business-es and institutions throughhigh-tech telecommunica-tions and face-to-face in-struction is a workable solu-tion for rural communitieslike Zapata,” Brown said.

The center will providethe working class, students,and others seeking new jobskills with access to the re-sources of the Texas A&MSystem, the University ofTexas System, Laredo Com-munity College and otherparticipating higher educa-tion institutions, Brownsaid.

In addition, “The Ad-vance Education Center willwork with both public andprivate sector employers inZapata to provide advancejob skills training,” Brownsaid.

Freshman courses will beavailable to recent highschool graduates to startworking towards specific de-gree programs of theirchoice, Brown said.

Also, unemployed individ-uals who are interested inimproving or learning newjob skills and individualsseeking employment will beable to work with the in-house Texas Workforce So-lutions team, Brown said.

“Any and all Zapata resi-dents who want to pursueadvance education or study,including students outsideof Zapata County, will be eli-gible to attend on a space-available basis,” Brownsaid.

“Both federal and stateleaders are watching Zapataand anticipating greatthings,” Brown said. “Oth-ers will know Zapata is seri-ous about higher educa-

masters degree in publichealth through a summergraduate study at HarvardUniversity, he said.

Brown foresaw a great op-portunity with the AEC, hesaid.

“I came to Zapata to bepart of a team of local com-munity leaders who wantnew solutions to providinghigher educational and vo-cational training access forrural communities,” Brownsaid. “The chance to workwith creative, dedicated andgenerous people who reallycare about the future of thiscommunity and understandthe importance of highereducation and vocationaltraining was the reason Iaccepted the job at the cen-ter.”

Brown, now living in Za-pata, said it is everything heexpected.

“I knew Zapata was abeautiful county with a longtradition of environmentaland good stewardship byland owners and the localcounty government,” Brownsaid. “The town has a well-deserved reputation for fish-ing, hunting, and lots offriendly welcoming people.

“I knew of Zapata’s oiland gas wealth, which isstill a major producingcounty, but I know othercounties located north overthe Eagle Fort reserves willsurpass Zapata’s productionand Zapata must diversifyits economy now, while itsgas fields are still generat-ing great wealth for thecounty,” Brown added.

Brown was officiallyhired Nov. 26 and since thenhas felt very welcomed bythe community, he said.

“The community hasbeen warm, kind and em-bracing,” he said. “I reallylike living here and the peo-ple are wonderful.”

Soon after getting hired,Brown got to work on col-laborating with surround-ing colleges and universitieson courses of study for thecenter and potential stu-dents.

“There is great enthusi-asm among the people forthe new center,” Brownsaid. “The high school stu-

tion.”As the director of the cen-

ter, Brown was responsiblefor developing all courses ofstudy in collaboration withsurrounding colleges anduniversities and other high-er education institutions.

“The center will mark anew era in Zapata, bringingthe community access tohigher education and train-ing,” Brown said. “The fu-ture in the new 21st Centu-ry global based/knowledgebased economy, fast evolv-ing with every new ad-vancement in telecommuni-cations, cell phones, comput-ers and biotechnologies, willnot leave Zapata behind.

“Zapata will have accessto the world through state-of-the-art computer labs,with audio/visual and tech-nology that will rival thoseanywhere,” Brown added.

Recent high school gradu-ates will be able to study un-dergraduate courses leadingtowards a bachelor’s degreeor an associates degree forthe Summer I semesteravailable in May, Brownsaid.

Also, Texas A&M Interna-tional University and Lare-do Community College haveentered into a memoran-dum of understanding thatfreshman and sophomorecourses will be taught byLCC and junior and seniorcourses will be taught byTAMIU, Brown said.

“Where LCC does not pro-vide courses for freshmanand sophomores, TAMIUwill offer such courses andvice versa for eligible col-lege credit transfer fromLCC,” Brown said.

LCC will also be provid-ing students with Zapata

County Fire Departmentand Emergency MedicalServices training, includingadvanced training and certi-fication in Emergency Med-ical Training (EMT) from aprogram in LCC leading tostate certification as part ofthe center’s vocationalcourses, Brown said.

Among all the courses ofstudy and new job skills, thecenter in collaboration withLCC will be providing part-nerships with major oil andgas companies operating inthe region, Brown said.

“They have already start-ed designing classes fortechnology training to in-crease worker’s knowledge,efficiency and productivityin gas pipeline mainte-nance, production aboveand below the well head,and local contractors,”Brown said.

Last but not least, coursesat both the University ofTexas Health Science Cen-ter in San Antonio and Uni-versity of Texas Health Sci-ence Center-San Antonio inLaredo have also beenplanned for next year,Brown added.

“We are correcting somesafety concerns and con-struction defects with thenew building, which is nor-mal for any new construc-tion project,” Brown said.“As long as all responsibleparties work together andcooperate with the center’sdirector and steering com-mittee to remedy those con-cerns, we should be open tothe public well before sum-mer classes start in May2011.”

(Lorraine L. Rodriguezmay be reached at (956) 728-2557.)

BROWN Continued from Page 1A

“It’s a huge school,”Garcia said.

The large number ofstudents called for the hir-ing of an additional secu-rity guard, Garcia said.

There are three guardson the campus, not in-cluding gate guards, Gar-cia added.

A visit from the Amer-ican Disabilities Associ-ation showed the campuswas now in compliancewith wheelchair accessi-bility and other disabilityrequirements.

The district includedADA requirements withall campus renovations,including the concessionstand and entrances tothe campus, Garcia said.

“It’s all up to par withwiring and up to codewith the ADA,” Garciasaid.

Other renovations in-cluded new paint, newceilings, removed lockers,and the expansion of boththe library and the cafete-ria.

“Students eat breakfastin the classroom but aredivided into two lunch pe-riods in the cafeteria,”Garcia said.

New paint included in-spirational murals, Garciasaid.

New furniture and tech-nology was installed onthe campus, including ta-bles, chairs, computersand projectors for thenow-conjoined scienceclassrooms and sciencelabs.

Before, science class-rooms and science labswere separate and teach-ers needed to carry theirmaterials to the lab, saidscience teacher MichaelGuerra.

“Before we were so lim-ited in what we can doand now we can do somuch more,” Guerra said.

After working with thedistrict for nearly 16years, Guerra was hasbeen through three orfour campuses, he said.

“It’s awesome to see thetransformation,” Guerrasaid. “It’s going to be a big

transition for everyone,but now our kids havesomething to be proudof.”

Principals have put anemphasis on technology,so computer labs also re-ceived new computers andthe campus is completelywireless, Guerra said.

A shipment of morethan 30 document cam-eras is still pending, Gar-cia added.

An open area for thetrades department wasenclosed to create class-rooms, Garcia said.

“There are no moreportables (buildings), soeveryone is under oneroof in a classroom,” Gar-cia said. “It’s great.”

Both the band hall andthe Mariachi hall werecompletely renovated withnew carpeting and paint,Garcia said.

The outside also re-ceived a few touch-ups, in-cluding roofs over walk-ways and a new pick-uparea for students.

“Hopefully, later on wecan get benches for thekids to sit (on) while theywait,” Garcia said.

Also included in therenovations were two des-ignated offices for the twocampus counselors, Gar-cia added.

In the future, ZapataMiddle School plans to lo-cate the drama depart-ment across the street,Garcia said.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguezmay be reached at (956)728-2557.)

SCHOOL Continued from Page 1A

Zapata Middle School studentswalk inside their newly remod-eled school, formerly ZapataHigh School, on Friday morn-ing.

Photo by Danny Zaragoza | TZT

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ifthere was one word to charac-terize the typical Oregon gamethis season, it would be blow-out.

For Auburn — try come-back.

Both of the teams playing inBCS title game are undefeated,but they’ve taken wildly differ-ent paths to Arizona. Whilethe No. 2 Ducks have been injust one game that was closerthan double-digits, the top-ranked Tigers have had to ral-ly eight times.

Somebody’s going to have

an atypical game Mondaynight.

AUBURNThe Tigers’ defining mo-

ment came on Nov. 26.

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Auburn and Oregon football helmets are displayed during an NCAA news conference, Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz.Oregon is scheduled to play Auburn in the BCS Championship on Monday in Glendale, Ariz.

Photo by Matt York | AP

GLORY IN GLENDALEDiffering paths collide in Arizona

By JOHN ZENOR AND ANNE M. PETERSONASSOCIATED PRESS

See BCS PAGE 2B

As a player in the 1980s and’90s, Hall of Fame defensive backRonnie Lott was known for —and roundly praised for — jarringtackles. As a newly appointed co-chairman of the NFL Player Safe-ty Advisory Panel, he’s lookingforward to watching this year’splayoffs and keeping tabs on whathe calls “good hits.”

After a regular season inwhich unnecessary roughness pe-nalties rose from 2009, and therewas so much attention on concus-

sions and dangerous hits — in-cluding elevated fines and threatsof suspensions — the first glimpseof how that all will play out in theplayoffs comes Saturday and Sun-day during wild-card weekend.

Lott figures players have hadsufficient time to adjust to theNFL’s increased emphasis. He al-so figures players should — andcan — adjust.

“You’re still going to play hard.You’re still going to hit hard.You’re still going to find a way toget to the ball. Great players will

NFL PLAYOFFS

Carolina running back Tyrell Sutton (22) is stopped by Atlanta cornerback DuntaRobinson (23) and Atlanta linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (56) with a question-able helmet hit. All eyes will be on the NFL’s reactions to helmet-to-helmet hitsthroughout the playoffs.

Photo by John Bazemore | AP

Big hits awild card

Flags look to dictate NFL’sWild Card weekend

By HOWARD FENDRICHASSOCIATED PRESS

See PLAYOFFS PAGE 2B

LUBBOCK — The NCAA ac-cused Texas Tech of major rulesviolations tied to recruiting onFriday, saying 16 athletics depart-ment staff members sent nearly1,000 impermissible text messagessent to football, softball and golfprospects.

The NCAA said the school dis-covered the violations and report-ed them. It did not add punish-ments beyond the school’s self-im-posed two years of probation,recruiting restrictions and schol-arship reductions.

The NCAA said the football vi-olations occurred between August2007 and February 2009, whichwould have come under formercoach Mike Leach. The NCAAsaid the football coaching staffsent approximately 234 text mess-ages to 45 prospective student-ath-letes.

Leach, who was fired in De-

cember 2009 amid allegations hehad mistreated a player with aconcussion, told the FinebaumRadio Network no one on his staffbroke any rules.

“I don’t know anything aboutit,” said Leach, who has sued theschool over his termination. “Wenever had anything more than asecondary violation when I wasthere.”

Tommy Tuberville, who justcompleted his first year as Tech’sfootball coach, said every coachand staff member understands

Red Raidersaccused by NCAA

Recruiters textmessaged illegally

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See TX TECH PAGE 2B

The worstinfractionsoccurred in themen’s golf andwomen’s softballprograms, theNCAA said. AUSTIN — The fast-rising

Texas Longhorns rememberjust how far and hard they felllast season — and how the col-lapse started in early January.

They promise it won’t hap-pen again. The chemistry andtalent on the team are too goodto let another good start dis-solve into another epic melt-down.

“The guys pull for each oth-er and we have fun on thecourt,” forward Gary Johnsonsaid this week, before the No.12 Longhorns (12-2) face eighth-ranked Connecticut (11-2) onSaturday.

“It’s too early to tell if we’rea Final Four team at this

point,” Johnson said, “butwe’re in a pretty good situationright now.”

It was a loss to UConn lastseason that seemed to start anasty tumble from No. 1 all theway out of The AssociatedPress rankings in just a fewweeks.

The Longhorns began theyear 17-0 and was No. 1 for thefirst time in school history. Theunbeaten streak ended with aloss to Kansas State, and theseason began getting ugly a fewdays later when they werehumbled by a Huskies teamthat didn’t even have Jim Cal-houn on the bench.

Texas finished 24-10 and witha first-round loss in the NCAAtournament.

“We didn’t expect to lose to

UConn,” senior guard DogusBalbay said simply. “And afterthat, we started losing games.”

Sophomore Jordan Hamil-ton, Texas’ leading scorer thisseason at 19.6 points per game,said better chemistry off thecourt has led to better play onit.

“We play harder,” Hamiltonsaid. “We do everything togeth-er off the court. We all hangout. We never individualizeourselves with anything.”

Texas has won six in a row.And just like last season, theLonghorns already have im-pressive wins over schools likeNorth Carolina, Michigan Stateand Arkansas.

But beyond similar sched-

Members of the Texas bench react late in the second half of their 88-74 loss to Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 23,2010. The ’Horns look to avenge their defeat tonight against the Huskies in Austin.

Photo by Fred Beckham | AP

No. 12 ’Horns wantrevenge on No. 8 Huskies

By JIM VERTUNOASSOCIATED PRESS

See TEXAS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

adapt, and you want to re-spect the integrity of thegame. ’Great’ trumps fines.’Great’ trumps doing itwrong. You can’t be ’great’if you’re doing it wrong,”Lott said in a telephone in-terview. “That’s the mostimportant thing: If the ruleschange, and you want to be’great,’ you’re going to learnhow to adapt; you’re not go-ing to learn how to com-plain.” According to STATSLLC, there were 184 unnec-essary roughness penaltiescalled this season, a 14 per-cent increase from 162 inthe 2009 regular season —and the highest total sinceat least 1991; that’s how farback STATS LLC’s penaltyinformation goes. In 2010,there were 0.719 unneces-sary roughness calls pergame, which also is thehighest average in the spanfor which data were availa-ble; the average was 0.713 in1998, when there were fewerteams and games.

There also was a jump inroughing-the-passer callsthis season, from 72 in 2009to 91 in 2010, STATS LLCsaid.

The NFL’s own data, pro-vided to the AP, include var-ious penalties the league

considers to fall under theunnecessary roughness“umbrella,” including legwhips, roll blocks and face-mask calls. The NFL’s num-bers show a smaller in-crease — of 8 percent, from220 such calls in 2009, to 238in 2010.

Linebacker David Harris,whose New York Jets play atPeyton Manning’s Indiana-polis Colts on Saturdaynight, said his team did notneed to talk about makingsure to keep hits clean.

“We didn’t spend one sec-ond on it. It should be nat-ural, knowing how to tackle.It’s never been a problem forus,” Harris said.

“The league is all aboutplayer safety, and they want(officials) to be stricter,” headded. “We just have to besmart about it.”

Per-game unnecessaryroughness penalties havegone up from the regularseason to the postseason inrecent years, according toSTATS LLC data. In 2009, forexample, there were an av-erage of 0.6 such calls in theregular season, compared to1.2 in the postseason; in2008, the 0.7 regular-seasonaverage was followed by a1.1 postseason average.

“It’s playoff football. Guysare coming; they’re cominghard,” Chicago Bears centerOlin Kreutz said. “You mayrisk fines you wouldn’t riskin the regular season. That’sjust something you have tounderstand when you play.”

Lott couldn’t account forwhy such calls might in-crease in the postseason. Hethinks officials call gamesconsistently, and playersplay consistently — whetherit’s Week 1 or the SuperBowl.

Current players agree. “You can’t go out there

thinking about fines or pe-nalties or anything like that.You’ve got to play on edgeand make the play. No one’sintentionally trying to hitanybody in the head or doanything malicious or any-thing like that. It’s just apart of the game,” Philadel-

phia Eagles defensive endDarryl Tapp said. “Some-times you’re in that situa-tion, but, uh, you got to play’controlled reckless.”’

In the leadup to histeam’s game against the vis-iting Green Bay Packers onSunday, one of the key story-lines is a play from theirregular-season meeting inWeek 1: In the second quar-ter, Green Bay linebackerClay Matthews tackled Ea-gles quarterback Kevin Kolbfrom behind and drove himinto the turf.

Kolb left at halftime witha concussion; Michael Vickreplaced him and wound upputting together a superbcomeback season.

Indeed, that first Sundaysignaled that head injurieswould be a major threadthrough the season. Anoth-er starting QB, Matt Moore

of the Carolina Panthers,left his team’s game that daywith a concussion, as didNew York Giants tight endKevin Boss.

It all reached a crescendoon one Sunday: Oct. 17,when a series of particularlyfrightening collisions acrossthe league drew widespreadattention — and action fromthe league. Eagles receiverDeSean Jackson and Fal-cons defensive back DuntaRobinson were knocked outof their game with concus-sions after Robinsonlaunched himself head-firstat Jackson. Ravens tight endTodd Heap took a vicioushit from Patriots safetyBrandon Meriweather. Steel-ers linebacker James Harri-son sidelined two Brownsplayers with jarring hitsthat resulted in head inju-ries.

In the next couple of days,the NFL threatened suspen-sions for illegal hits — al-though no player was puni-shed that way during theregular season — and hand-ed out fines of tens of thou-sands of dollars. Later, theleague reduced the fines giv-en to Harrison, Robinsonand Meriweather for theirOct. 17 hits.

The league also sent outvarious warnings to try toget players to focus on limit-ing dangerous collisions: amemo from CommissionerRoger Goodell, a videoshowing can- and can’t-dos,lists sent to coaches lettingthem know which playershave multiple unnecessaryroughness penalties. Pack-ers defensive coordinatorDom Capers said there wasno need to place a specialemphasis on illegal hitswhile preparing for thisweekend.

“You go out and play thegame the way you’ve beenplaying it. I think that theleague has gotten theirpoint across, what theywanted to, in terms of mak-ing guys conscious,” Caperssaid. “I don’t think that’llchange one bit in the play-offs.”

PLAYOFFS Continued from Page 1B

“We didn’t spend one second on it. It should benatural, knowing how to tackle. It’s never been aproblem for us,” LINEBACKER DAVID HARRIS

Auburn was down 24-0,nothing was going right,and 100,000-plus fans weremostly counting them outeither with gleeful celebra-tion or stunned silence.

The Tigers reboundedfrom that deficit, the big-gest they’ve ever overcomein a victory, to beat bitterrival Alabama 28-27 atBryant-Denny Stadium inthe regular-season finale. Itstands as the latest andlargest comeback led byHeisman Trophy winnerCam Newton.

Auburn has turned onecliche into practically anart form this season.

“It’s not about how youstart, it’s about how youfinish. I know everybody’sheard that before,” line-backer Josh Bynes said.“That’s basically it. Westarted out horrible againstAlabama and we weredown 24-0 and all of a sud-den ended up winning thegame 28-27 because weknow how to finish as ateam.

“We’re all about finishingand that’s why we’re herenow.”

It’s a defining charactertrait that surfaced in Game3, when Auburn ralliedfrom a 17-3 halftime deficitagainst Clemson. A missed32-yard field goal in over-time preserved a 27-24 vic-tory.

A week later, Auburn

was down 20-7 againstSouth Carolina and won byeight points after forcingfour fourth-quarter turn-overs. Thrillers followedagainst Kentucky (37-34),Arkansas (65-43, with 28straight points in thefourth), LSU (24-17) and, ofcourse, Alabama.

The Crimson Tide hadnever blown so large a leadin defeat.

“I think the chemistry ofour team was built on thefact that we’ve had to wingames about every way youcan win them,” Tigerscoach Gene Chizik said.“We’ve had to win themlate. We’ve had to win themjust different ways, defen-sively, offensively, specialteams. We’ve been in a lotof big games. I think thatanytime you are really ex-posed to a lot of differentthings, it can’t do anythingbut help.”

And maybe it did. The Ti-gers nailed down a spot inthe national title game withtheir most dominant per-formance yet, winning 56-17over South Carolina for theSoutheastern Conferencechampionship. No come-back necessary.

Newton accounted for sixtouchdowns, with 335 yardspassing and 73 rushing. Hewon the Heisman a weeklater, after also claiming theMaxwell Award as player ofthe year and the Davey

O’Brien Award as the topquarterback.

Defensive tackle NickFairley, like Newton a ju-nior college transfer, wonthe Lombardi Award.

OREGONOregon running back

LaMichael James, a Heis-man finalist, keys whatsome have called Oregon’s“Blur Offense.” It’s a no-huddle, spread-option withan emphasis on speed.Stanford coach Jim Har-baugh described it as “fast-fast.”

Here’s the way it works.Oregon wears down oppos-ing defenses, then scorespretty much freely afterhalftime.

The Ducks have out-scored their opponents 592-221. In the fourth quarter,they’ve outscored foes 115-24. As for speed, 35 of their71 scoring drives have tak-en five plays or less, and 24have taken less than 56 sec-onds.

James delights in how of-ten he gets to see the oppo-sition get gassed.

“It makes teams wherethey can’t sub. That reallyis a big key for us. Whenthey can’t sub, most guysget tired. They have thewrong personnel group in,”he said. “We really excel onthat.”

Oregon opened with abang, beating New Mexico72-0, and followed it up witha 48-13 win at Tennessee.

The Ducks also blankedPortland State 69-0, givingthe team multiple shutoutsfor the first time since 1964.

Oregon’s winning marginwas at least 20 points in allbut a few of their games.The only time the Ducksdeviated from the formulawas midway through No-vember, when they visitedCal and barely escapedwith a 15-13 victory. TheGolden Bears had a chanceto go ahead early in thefourth quarter, but theywere thwarted by a missedfield goal and the Ducksheld on.

Afterward, coach ChipKelly insisted that it wasn’ta big deal.

“A win’s a win,” he said. More often, Oregon’s

games looked like theteam’s 52-31 win over Stan-ford on Oct. 2. The Ducksfell behind 21-3 early, butthe frenetic pace eventuallycaught up with the Cardi-nal, who didn’t score in thesecond half.

UCLA coach Rick Neu-heisel was asked whetherhe’d ever seen a team clicklike the Ducks, whodowned the Bruins 60-13this season.

“That was impressive,”he said. “I’ll leave it at that.That was impressive.”

BCS Continued from Page 1B

NCAA and Big 12 Confer-ence rules.

“The infractions that oc-curred with football hereat Tech happened between2007 and early 2009, beforeI arrived as head coach,”he said. “We are glad tohave this behind us.”

The worst infractions oc-curred in the men’s golfand women’s softball pro-grams, the NCAA said.

Between August 2007and November 2008, thehead men’s golf coach andthe former assistant men’sgolf coach sent approxi-mately 399 impermissible

text messages to six pros-pective student-athletesand 25 impermissible textmessages to a parent.

During the same time,the former head softballcoach and two former as-sistants sent 293 impermis-sible text messages to 10prospects.

Both the men’s golf andsoftball coach were ac-cused of failing to promotean atmosphere of compli-ance, a major violation un-der NCAA rules. The golfprogram was hit with thestrictest limits on recruit-ing as punishment.

TX TECH Continued from Page 1B

ules, coach Rick Barnesdismisses any compari-sons to last year.

“It’s a new season,”Barnes said, “a newteam.”

But Barnes made apoint of praising a groupof seniors on a squad get-ting the bulk of its flashfrom freshmen and sopho-mores.

Johnson, Balbay, for-ward Matt Hill and guardJai Lucas are largely roleplayers on a team dom-

inated by Hamilton andfreshmen Tristan Thomp-son and Cory Joseph, butthey lead by example withthe work they put in prac-tice, Barnes said.

“They’ve learned theyall need each other,”Barnes said.

Balbay said the seniorshave made a point of mak-ing sure the younger play-ers give the same effort ev-ery day.

“What we do in practice,we take the same intensity

to the game. We didn’t dothat last year,” Balbaysaid.

Balbay will have a toughjob Saturday trying toguard Connecticut’s Kem-ba Walker, the nation’sleading scorer at 26.1points per game. Walkerhad 19 points and 10 as-sists against Texas lastseason.

“He’s really fast with theball and he’s really tough,”Balbay said. “That’s myjob. I’ve got to guard him

somehow ... I’ll get helpfrom other guys. We’ll tryto shrink the court andkeep him out of the paint.”

Johnson said everyonemust be willing to helpstop Walker. Texas’ 6-6small forward says he’sbeen playing good defensethis season and wants totest himself against one ofthe most explosive offen-sive players in the country.

“We’ll have a lot of guyson him,” Johnson said.“I’m up for the challenge.”

TEXAS Continued from Page 1B

SAN FRANCISCO —Jim Harbaugh is the newcoach of the San Francis-co 49ers.

The successful Stanfordcoach gets to remain inthe Bay Area, moving tothe NFL after four yearswith the Cardinal.

The 49ers announcedthe hiring Friday. A newsconference is planned for6:30 p.m. EST in San Fran-cisco.

Harbaugh, a longtimeNFL quarterback, replac-es fired coach Mike Sin-gletary. ESPN reportedHarbaugh’s deal is for $25million over five years.

“Welcome coach har-baugh,” tweeted 49ersfour-time Pro Bowl line-backer Patrick Willis.

Harbaugh decided tomake the jump to the proseven though San Francis-co has missed the playoffsfor eight straight seasonsand Orange Bowl MVPquarterback Andrew Luckdecided to remain at Stan-ford for another season.

The Cardinal (12-1) fin-ished with a school-record12 wins following a 40-12victory over Virginia Techin the Orange Bowl.

Harbaugh, though, haslong admired the late Hallof Fame coach Bill Walsh,one of his mentors, andhow Walsh made the suc-cessful leap from Stanfordto the 49ers.

Now, he must turnaround a once-proud fran-chise that is desperate tobecome a contender againright away. The 49ers werepicked to win the NFCWest this season, then be-gan 0-5 for their worststart since losing sevenstraight to begin a 2-14season in 1979 — Walsh’sfirst year as coach.

The 49ers finished 6-10this year — in the chasefor a playoff berth in theNFL’s worst division untilthe second-to-last week —and haven’t had a win-ning season since theirlast trip to the playoffs in2002.

Harbaugh likely will begrooming a new quarter-back in the comingmonths. Alex Smith, the2005 No. 1 overall draftpick out of Utah, becomesa free agent. So, finding aQB is high on the team’sto-do list heading intowhat should be a busy off-season.

Once the season begins,Harbaugh will face a fa-miliar foe — big brotherJohn Harbaugh, coach ofthe Baltimore Ravens.

Niners team presidentand CEO Jed York saidwhen Singletary was firedthat money would be noobject in finding theteam’s next coach. He pro-moted vice president ofplayer personnel TrentBaalke to general manag-er earlier this week, thenthey worked together tomake their push for Har-baugh, who also was intalks with the Miami Dol-phins and Stanford.

The 47-year-old Har-baugh went 58-27 overallas a college coach and 29-21 in four seasons at Stan-ford. He took over a 1-11team when he was hiredin December 2006 andquickly turned the pro-gram back into a winnerand bowl contender.

The Cardinal went 4-8in his first season, 5-7 thenext, then improved to 8-5and earned a Sun Bowlberth in 2009.

When Stanford arrivedback on campus Tuesday,one man hollered “Stay inthe Bay Area!” when Har-baugh hopped off the bus.

Harbaughjumps to NFL

with 49ersBy JANIE MCCAULEYASSOCIATED PRESS

BELTRE GETS BIG MONEY TO BECOME RANGERS’ THIRD BASEMAN

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

Texas Rangersgeneral managerJon Daniels, left,

shakes handswith newly ac-

quired thirdbaseman AdrianBeltre, right, fol-

lowing a newsconference,

Wednesday inArlington. Beltreagreed to a $96

million, six-yearcontract with the

team.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it: FAMILY CIRCUS DENNIS THE MENACE

CARROTS FOR CA-NINES

Dear Heloise: When Iadopted my dog Dusty fromthe animal shelter, he waspretty scrawny. Since then,he has thrived and is now abit overweight. I have to cutback on his treats and food.My vet suggested CAR-ROTS.

Dusty didn’t like raw car-rots, so I cooked them inwater. He loves them as atreat instead of dog biscuits.— Pat Z. in Warren, Ohio

Pat, our Cabbie loves car-rots, too! She will “speak”for a slice or two of raw car-rot. According to the Amer-ican Society for the Preven-tion of Cruelty to Animalsand other sources wechecked, carrots are an OKtreat for dogs.

Check with your veterin-arian to be sure your petcan have carrots as an occa-sional treat. — Heloise

PET PALDear Readers: Jean

Croyle of Central City, Pa.,sent a picture of her terriermix, Molly, lying on the bed,patiently waiting for her tocome home. Molly wasadopted from a shelter, andJean says, “Molly remindsus of what is truly impor-tant: wet doggy kisses, pa-tience and loyalty.” To seeMolly and other Pet Pals,visit www.Heloise.com. —Heloise

NOT DOG TREATSDear Heloise: I have two

dogs, a cocker spaniel and abasset hound. A couple ofyears ago, I came homefrom shopping for dinner.There were several items Iput on the counter before Ileft to do other errands.When I returned, I couldn’tfind the loaf of warmFrench bread. The breadwas in the dogs’ tummies.Both of their stomachs werebulging, but no lasting dam-age was done, except to ourdinner that night! — LeslieSoyster, via e-mail

A good reminder to keepfoods off the counters andaway from prying paws andmouths. — Heloise

EASY SWEATERDear Heloise: I had an old

sweater and a cold dog. So, Imeasured my dog from hershoulders down to her tail,and cut one of the sleeves ofthe sweater just slightlylonger. I hemmed the sleeve,then cut a slit for each ofher legs and hemmed thosealso, to avoid unraveling.

She looks so cute, and isnow snuggly warm in her“new” sweater! — H.C. inVirginia

HINTS BY | HELOISE

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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2011

SEATTLE — A year ago,the New Orleans Saintsrode the raucous enthusi-asm of the Superdomethrough the NFC playoffsto the first Super Bowl titlein franchise history.

Hope they waved good-bye to the Superdome ontheir way out of town earli-er this week. There’s agood chance if these Saintsare going to get all the wayback to the league’s titlegame, they’ll be asked to doit on the road.

The first stop on theirpostseason road trip beginsSaturday in Seattle, againstthe Seahawks in the firstround of the NFC playoffs.

It doesn’t quite seemright the defending champsand an 11-win team thisseason would be asked totravel 2,000 miles on ashort week to face the firstdivision champs in leaguehistory with a losing re-cord — and a team theSaints beat 34-19 in Week11.

“We all have a formulafor getting in. We all knowahead of time. No one wasupset about it or complain-ing about it before the startof the season,” Saints coachSean Payton said. “I thinkthat value of winning yourdivision means something.Just as a season ago whenthe postseason began, theteams that are in now real-ly are 0-0. That’s just the

truth. I think our playersunderstand that more thananything.”

But the task in front ofthe Saints as the No. 5 seedin the NFC became seem-ingly more difficult as theweek progressed.

There’s the second con-secutive short week havingplayed at Atlanta on Dec.27, losing at home to Tam-pa Bay last Sunday and tak-ing off Thursday after prac-tice to make the five-hourflight to Seattle. There’s thePacific Northwest weather,where rain and even achance of some light snow

are being forecast for Sat-urday.

There’s the Saints histo-ry, which tells the story of afranchise that has neverwon, let alone played well,away from the Superdomein the playoffs. New Or-leans lost 16-6 at Chicago in1991; 34-16 at Minnesota in2001; and 39-14 at Chicagoin the NFC championshipgame four years ago.

Then there’s the injuries.Already this week, theSaints placed their top tworunning backs — Chris Ivo-ry and Pierre Thomas —on injured reserve. Only

Reggie Bush and JuliusJones remain as the Saintshealthy running backsfrom the regular season.

The injury concernsstretch beyond the backs.Marques Colston, who hadeight catches for 113 yardsand two touchdowns in thefirst meeting against Seat-tle, is listed as probable, butunderwent knee surgeryless than two weeks ago.Safety Malcolm Jenkins isout, thinning a secondarythat allowed 366 yards pass-ing to Seattle earlier thisyear. Starting outside line-backer Danny Clark, tight

end Jimmy Graham anddefensive tackle AnthonyHargrove are also out.

What first looked like aglorified scrimmage for theSaints to get ready for thenext round of the playoffshas turned, leaving just theslightest bit of possibility tothe thought: “Can Seattleactually pull the upset?”

“It’s a home playoffgame, it’s going to be loud,and it is going to be crazy,”Saints quarterback DrewBrees said. “It’s one of thelouder venues in theleague. I think they showedhow well they can play last

week.” With Ivory and Thomas

out, Bush is likely to getplenty of touches. And hisopportunity just so hap-pens to be with Pete Car-roll on the other sideline inthe fourth playoff game ofhis career as a head coach.

But this position Carrollfinds himself in is unfamil-iar — in the postseasonand a decided underdog.

A large part of Carroll’ssuccess at Southern Cali-fornia was rooted in com-ing through in the postsea-son. He was 7-2 in bowlgames with the Trojans,his only losses coming inhis first season (10-6 toUtah) and in the Trojans’title game loss to VinceYoung and Texas, 41-38.

But “underdog” wasn’tuttered this week aroundthe Seahawks practice facil-ity.

“It’s kind of funny be-cause Pete always says,’Hey, I don’t care who theybring in here — they couldbring in the world champs!’And the irony is they arereally bringing in the worldchamps, so there you go,”Seattle quarterback MattHasselbeck said. “But hehas been saying that fromday one, and he’s been say-ing it for practice even.”

A Seattle upset would bequite the big deal and atleast silence some of thecriticism lobbed toward thePacific Northwest afterSeattle won the NFC Westwith a 7-9 record.

’Hawks hope for big upset in SeattleBy TIM BOOTH

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll watches the team’s practice Tuesday in Renton, Wash. The Seahawks host the New Orleans Saints onSaturday in an NFC Wild Card game.

Photo by Elaine Thompson | AP

INDIANAPOLIS — Pey-ton Manning has kept it allbusiness this week.

He studied tapes, lookedfor flaws and worked over-time to figure out how hebeat the Jets defense. Nochange there, so don’t takeit personally, Rex.

“It takes you absolutelyforever to watch one gamewith their defense becausethey have so many differ-ent players and formations.It’s a full-time cram ses-sion,” Manning said. “Itjust takes you time if youare going to truly study.”

Few prepare more thor-oughly than Manning, andeven fewer can match thefeats of the only four-timeMVP league in history.This week’s possible mile-stones include passing JoeMontana for No. 2 on thepostseason completions listand moving into the topfive in playoff TD passes.

So if Ryan thought hecould make Manning fretby calling this week’smatchup “personal,” well,think again.

As Ryan continuedchirping, Manning keptworking.

“I really don’t have anyreaction to it,” Manningsaid. “I know how hard itis to prepare for this styleof defense.”

Playing mind gameswith Manning is danger-ous, something nobody un-derstands better than Ryan.

He’s 1-5 against Manningas the Jets coach and Rav-ens defensive coordinator,

with the win coming in agame Manning didn’t evenfinish. The Colts yankedtheir starters early in Week16 last season, throwingaway their chance at a per-fect season and helping theJets position themselves tocharge into the playoffs.

Four weeks later, theteams met again in theAFC championship gameand Manning led the Coltsto a 30-17 come-from-behindvictory.

So given what Ryan hasendured in the past, any-thing is worth a shot.

“I remember in Balti-more, we had to get a stopto get the ball back andmake it a game, and it wasthird down and it was justimpossible to make thepass he makes to DallasClark. The coverage by Co-rey Ivy was ridiculous,”Ryan recalled of anotherplayoff loss to Manning’sColts. “He still made thethrow and they went downand kicked a field goal, andthe game was essentiallyover at that point.”

Over the years, Ryan hasseen that scenario play outtime and again.

From implausiblethrows to perfect gamemanagement to timelycalls, Manning seems tohave written the book onbeating Ryan.

Changing that will likelytake a ball-control offense,a lockdown defense, noturnovers and a little goodluck.

New York (11-5) certainlyhas the pieces to do it.

Shonn Greene and La-Dainian Tomlinson helpedthe Jets rank fourth in theNFL in rushing, and theJets are coming off lastweek’s season-high 276-yardshowing at Buffalo.

Defensively, the Jets areNo. 3 overall and No. 6against the pass andthey’re hoping to get apayoff after bringing incornerback Antonio Cro-martie to team with All-ProDarrelle Revis. Ryan ac-knowledged that the movefor Cromartie was designedspecifically to stop twoteams — the Colts (10-6)and the Patriots.

It still might not beenough to beat Manning.What Revis remembersabout last year’s champion-ship game loss was the wayManning adjusted on thefly.

“I have never seen aquarterback know some-body else’s defense thatwell,” Revis said. “Heknows what coverage youare in, it’s sometimes likehe’s toying with us. Youknow, ’I’m going to playaround with you.’ Heknows how to move peoplearound and then to throwit where he needs to.”

That goes back to thehomework.

But there are troublingsigns for the Jets, too.

Since Week 5, the 31-year-old Tomlinson has av-eraged just 3.3 yards percarry. Quarterback MarkSanchez has been contend-ing with a sore throwingshoulder and the Jets haveonly beaten two teams withwinning records this sea-son — Week 2 against NewEngland and Week 15 atPittsburgh.

Indy, which had one ofthe worst defenses againstthe run this season, al-lowed only 79.8 yards in thelast four games despite fac-ing four of the league’s toprunners — Chris Johnsontwice, Maurice Jones-Drewand Darren McFadden.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (87) is tackled by New York Jets safety Kerry Rhodesduring the 2010 AFC championship game in Indianapolis. The Jets return to Indianapolis for a playoffgame against the Colts on Saturday night. The Colts won the 2010 game.

Photo by Michael Conroy | AP

Playoff rematch in IndyRex gets personal

with PeytonBy MICHAEL MAROTASSOCIATED PRESS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Eric Berry just couldn’tfind the words.

Finally, Kansas City’srookie safety just gave up.There’s no way to describethe excitement he’ll feelSunday when he lines upon the same field as EdReed, the Baltimore safetyhe’s idolized since he was14.

“Being on the field withhim this Sunday is — Idon’t even have words forit,” Berry said. “Growingup watching him and ac-tually being on the fieldwith him is going to be abig step. I don’t know. Ican’t even put it into wordsright now.”

The resurgent Chiefs(10-6) are hoping the gameat Arrowhead Stadium willmark the beginning of anew era of football in Kan-sas City, the start of a turn-around under second-yearGM Scott Pioli and second-year coach Todd Haley.

To some, it might alsomark the beginning of thepassing of a torch in one offootball’s key defensive po-sitions.

The 32-year-old Reed hasbeen recognized as an elitesafety since the Ravensdrafted him in the firstround out of Miami in 2002.

The 22-year-old Berryshows promise of reachingelite status himself someday. He has a long way togo before he’s consideredanother Reed, who led theNFL this season with eightinterceptions and was cho-sen for his seventh ProBowl even though hemissed the first six games.

But Berry, a TennesseeAll-American, has startedevery game since theChiefs made him the firstsafety taken with a top-fivepick since 1991, and a bigDecember made him theNFL’s defensive rookie ofthe month.

“I’m just looking for-ward to playing againsthim,” said Berry, who hada team-leading four inter-ceptions and returned one54 yards for a touchdown.

“I’ve never met him, per-sonally,” Reed said. “So it’llbe interesting to meet himthis week, being that it’sgoing to be in the playoffs.”

Ravens,Chiefsboast

similaritiesBy DOUG TUCKER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (5) throws to TE Ed Dickson (83)for a first down reception. The Ravens prepare to take on the 10-6Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Photo by Brett Coomer | Houston Chronicle

PHILADELPHIA — De-Sean Jackson can scoreanytime he touches theball from anywhere onthe field.

The problem for thePhiladelphia Eagles isthey don’t have much suc-cess when opponents shutJackson down. The Eagleswere 10-4 in games Jack-son played this season.The Pro Bowl wide receiv-er had just 11 catches for107 yards and no touch-downs in the four losses.

Guess who the GreenBay Packers (10-6) will fo-cus on stopping whenthey play Philadelphia(10-6) in an NFC wild-cardgame on Sunday?

Yes, the Packers have tocontain Michael Vick. Buthe’s the quarterback andthere’s no way to keep theball out of his hands. So,they’ll try to take awayVick’s main target in-stead.

“He’s a gamebreaker,”Packers cornerback Char-les Woodson said of Jack-son. “He’s done it hiswhole career, and he cando it from anywhere on

the field. He’s a guy that,if he gets his hands on theball, he can get it to theend zone from anywhere.He has that type of speed.So, he’ll be a tough chal-lenge for us.”

Jackson finished theseason with 47 catches for1,056 yards and six touch-downs. He led the NFLwith an average of 22.5yards per reception. InPhiladelphia’s 10 wins,Jackson averaged 3.6catches and 94.9 yards.

Vick is quite aware thatgetting the ball to Jacksonis crucial. He’s throwndeep passes to Jackson onthe game’s opening play acouple times and connect-ed for big plays. Jacksonhad an 88-yard scoringcatch against Washingtonon Nov. 15, and a 60-yardreception against Dallason Dec. 12.

This will be a rematchof Green Bay’s 27-20 victo-ry at Philadelphia inWeek 1.

Packers try to clip Vick’s wingsBy ROB MAADDI

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Eagles QB Michael Vick (7) runs from Packers LB Frank Zombo(58) during in Philadelphia. Going into Sunday’s playoff game, thePackers have had all week to get ready for the Eagles’ dynamicquarterback, but they’re still in for a challenge.

Photo by Mel Evans | AP