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CONCORD, N.H. — The last time vot-ers in New Hampshire saw Rick Perry,the Texas governor’s 2012 presidentialbid had fallen apart after a series ofgaffes punctuated by a much-malignedstumble during a televised debate.

When he visits the key early-votingstate this weekend, he’ll have a newhurdle — his indictment on abuse-of-power charges — and much to prove toRepublicans watching his handling ofthe matter for clues to his 2016 presi-dential prospects.

“I don’t think (Republicans) will takethe indictment so seriously but theywant to see if this Rick Perry is able tocontend with adversity the way the oth-er Rick Perry was unable to,” saidDante Scala, a political science profes-sor at the University of New Hamp-shire. “The last time they saw him, hewas stumbling around.”

Others who agree with Perry thatthe indictment is politically motivatedand without substance say his recordin office will be their focus.

“People are going to want to seewhat he’s saying about immigration be-cause that’s an issue that’s certainlygoing to come up in the November elec-tions,” said state senator and formerCongressman Jeb Bradley. “They’re al-so going to want to hear why is theTexas economy one of the best in thenation and what can we learn about ithere in New Hampshire.”

The visit comes after a grand juryhanded up the indictment Friday,charging Perry with carrying out athreat to veto $7.5 million in fundingfor the state’s public integrity unit af-ter Travis County District AttorneyRosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, re-fused to resign following a well-pub-licized drunken driving arrest. Perryfaces charges that carry a maximumsentence of 109 years in prison.

The extent to which Perry can takecommand of his press coverage in thepolitically important state will be con-sidered by some a measure of his via-bility in the presidential arena.

Aides have said Perry plans to main-tain his public schedule, in which he’llmake a half-dozen stops in New Hamp-shire and later visit the key battle-ground states of Iowa and South Caroli-na.

Arizona Sen. John McCain scoffed atPerry’s indictment.

McCain knows New Hampshire’svoters. He captured the state’s presi-dential primary in 2000 and 2008 andcampaigned Monday for Senate hopefulScott Brown.

“I just think it’s outrageous from ev-erything I can tell and I think it willhelp him in the long run,” McCainsaid, suggesting Perry make repeatedstops in the state. “People want to meetyou more than once in New Hamp-shire.”

2016 ELECTION

On thecampaigntrail, again

Rick Perry heads to NewHampshire to seek votes

By RIK STEVENSASSOCIATED PRESS

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. —Investigators acting on a tip un-raveled a plot to carry out amass shooting at a suburbanLos Angeles high school, arrest-ing a pair of students whoplanned to target three schoolstaffers and kill as many peopleas possible, police said Tuesday.

School officials learned of theplot on Thursday and notifieddetectives, who began watchingthe 16- and 17-year-old boys and

monitoring their online activity,South Pasadena Police Chief Ar-thur Miller said.

The pair didn’t have a datefor an attack or weapons, buttheir online messaging includedthe names of three staffers totarget and threats to randomlykill students, Miller said.

They were also researchingautomatic firearms, handguns,knives, explosives and tacticaltechniques, he said.

“Three or four days’ worth ofsurveillance on the Internet in-dicated that they had a very

real threat,” he said. “They hada plan in mind that they weregoing to execute.”

The names of the teens havenot been released because oftheir ages. Police expect to pre-sent their case to the district at-torney later in the day.

Miller said police interviewedthe boys and realized how cold-hearted the plot was. He provid-ed no specifics, and officials atSouth Pasadena High Schooldid not disclose details of theinitial tip.

Classes start again Thursday

in the quaint San Gabriel Valleysuburb known for its qualityschools and community involve-ment in education. Police planto have a larger presence thanusual on campus for the firstday of school.

School cheerleaders Zoe Bul-lard and Leah Schexnayder,both 16, said they were fright-ened by news of the arrests.

“I don’t even want to go toschool on Thursday, becausewhat if something happens?”Schexnayder said.

“What if they missed a per-

son?” Bullard asked about thepolice investigation.

Miller said his officers savedlives by thwarting the attack inthe town of about 25,000 peopleabout 6 miles from downtownLos Angeles.

“They were making a huge, ahuge plan of a school mas-sacre,” Miller said. “They justwanted to kill as many peopleas possible.”

Enough evidence was gath-ered to serve warrants at the

SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Web activities expose plot to target schoolBy CHRISTOPHER WEBER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See SCHOOL PAGE 9A

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perrywas defiant as he was bookedon abuse of power chargesTuesday, saying he would “fightthis injustice with every fiber ofmy being.”

The Republican, who is mull-ing a second presidential run in2016, was indicted after carry-

ing out a threat to veto fundingfor state public corruption pros-ecutors. He has long called thecase a political ploy, and dozensof supporters chanting hisname and holding signs, somesaying “Stop Democrat Games,”greeted him when he arrived atthe Travis County courthousein Austin.

“I’m going to fight this injus-tice with every fiber of my be-

ing. And we will prevail,” Perrysaid before walking inside.

Sheriff ’s deputies confirmedthat the governor was finger-printed and had a mug shottaken before leaving a few min-utes later.

The longest-serving governorin Texas history was indictedlast week for coercion and offi-cial oppression for publiclypromising to veto $7.5 million

for the state public integrityunit, which investigates wrong-doing by elected officials and isrun by the Travis County dis-trict attorney’s office. Perrythreatened the veto if the coun-ty’s Democratic district attor-ney, Rosemary Lehmberg,stayed in office after a drunkendriving conviction.

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

OFFICIALS BOOK PERRY

Gov. Rick Perry, front right, is escorted from the Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Tuesday, in Austin. Perry has been booked on two felonycounts of abuse of power for carrying out a threat to veto funding to state public corruption prosecutors.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Governor faces with abuse of power chargesBy WILL WEISSERT AND PAUL J. WEBER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See CHARGED PAGE 9A

MISSION — On a recentmoonlit night, Border Patrolagents began rounding upeight immigrants hiding inand around a canal near theRio Grande. A state troopersoon arrived to help. Then outof the darkness emerged sevenmore armed men in fatigues.

THE BORDER

Tense conditions

The main canal supplying water to the city of Mission is shown. At this spot on the night of Aug. 6, Border Patrolagents arresting immigrants mistook seven armed militia members for state troopers.

Photo by Christopher Sherman | AP

Militiascomplicatesituation

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMANASSOCIATED PRESS

See BORDER PAGE 9A

PAGE 2A Zin brief WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014

Thursday, Aug. 21Grief support group. Noon to

1:30 p.m. First United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free andopen to public. Contact Patricia Cisne-ros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Los Amigos Duplicates BridgeClub meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lare-do Country Club. Contact Beverly Can-tu at 727-0589.

Friday, Aug. 22South Texas Food Bank’s Empty

Bowls VIII, mission of feeding the hun-gry fundraiser. 8:30 p.m. Laredo Ener-gy Arena. Music by Motown Legendsand Commodores. Beaumont Founda-tion to be honored. Tickets on sale atLEA box office and Ticketmaster for$10, $15, and $25. Contact Salo Oteroat 324-2432.

Saturday, Aug. 23Annual Back to School Kid’s Fish-

ing Tournament. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bra-vo Park Pond. Contact cbalderas@zapa-tachamber.com.

Monday, Aug. 25Commissioners Court meeting. 9

a.m. to noon. Zapata County Court-house. Contact Roxy Elizondo at 765-9920.

Monthly meeting of Laredo Par-kinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Cen-ter, Tower B, First Floor CommunityCenter. Patients, caregivers and familymembers invited. Free info pamphletsavailable in Spanish and English. CallRichard Renner (English) at 645-8649or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 237-0666.

Saturday, Aug. 26Sparkle and Dazzle, 317 E. Cal-

ton Road, will have 25th anniversaryreunion tickets for JW Nixon class of1989. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Reuniondates are Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday,Oct. 11. $25 per person on Friday and$30 per person on Saturday. Go to JWNixon 1989 on Facebook for more in-formation.

Thursday, Aug. 28Grief support group. Noon to

1:30 p.m. First United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free andopen to public. Contact Patricia Cisne-ros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Los Amigos Duplicates BridgeClub meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lare-do Country Club. Contact Beverly Can-tu at 727-0589.

Spanish Book Club meeting. 6p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Li-brary, 1120 E. Calton Road. For infor-mation call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Tuesday, Sept. 2Alzheimer’s support group meet-

ing. 7 p.m. Meeting room 2, building Bof the Laredo Medical Center. The sup-port group is for family members andcaregivers taking care of someone whohas Alzheimer’s. For more informationcall 956-693-9991.

Thursday, Sept. 4Grief support group. Noon to

1:30 p.m. First United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free andopen to public. Contact Patricia Cisne-ros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Sisters of Mercy “Conversationswith the Sisters,” a series of discus-sions focusing on earth, nonviolence,women, racism and immigration. 6p.m. to 7 p.m. 1000 Mier St.

Friday, Sept. 5Women in Leadership. Positive

role models event. 12 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.Palenque Grill. Contact Abby Willett orSylvia Praesel for more information atwwconnection.org.

Wednesday, Sept. 1021st annual Logistics & Manu-

facturing Symposium. Texas A&M Inter-national University. For more informa-tion contact the Laredo DevelopmentFoundation at 800-820-0564, 722-0563 or ldfinfo@ldfonline.org.

Thursday, Sept. 11Grief support group. Noon to

1:30 p.m. First United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free andopen to public. Contact Patricia Cisne-ros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Submit calendar items at lmton-line.com/calendar/submit or by email-ing editorial@lmtonline.com with theevent’s name, date and time, locationand purpose and contact informationfor a representative.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Wednesday, August20, the 232nd day of 2014.There are 133 days left in theyear.

Today’s Highlights inHistory:

On August 20, 1914, Germanforces occupied Brussels, Bel-gium, during World War I.

On this date:In 1833, Benjamin Harrison,

23rd president of the UnitedStates, was born in NorthBend, Ohio.

In 1866, President AndrewJohnson formally declared theCivil War over, months afterfighting had stopped.

In 1882, Tchaikovsky’s “1812Overture” had its premiere inMoscow.

In 1910, a series of forestfires swept through parts ofIdaho, Montana and Washing-ton, killing at least 85 peopleand burning some 3 millionacres.

In 1940, during World WarII, British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill paid tributeto the Royal Air Force beforethe House of Commons, say-ing, “Never in the field of hu-man conflict was so muchowed by so many to so few.”

In 1953, the Soviet Unionpublicly acknowledged it hadtested a hydrogen bomb.

In 1964, President LyndonB. Johnson signed the Eco-nomic Opportunity Act, anearly $1 billion anti-povertymeasure.

In 1968, the Soviet Unionand other Warsaw Pact na-tions began invading Czechos-lovakia to crush the “PragueSpring” liberalization drive.

In 1972, the Wattstax con-cert took place at the Los An-geles Memorial Coliseum.

In 1977, the U.S. launchedVoyager 2, an unmannedspacecraft carrying a 12-inchcopper phonograph recordcontaining greetings in dozensof languages, samples of musicand sounds of nature.

In 1989, the situation come-dy “Saved by the Bell” pre-miered on NBC-TV.

Ten years ago: Democratslabored to deflect attacks onpresidential nominee JohnKerry’s war record with freshtelevision ads touting his fit-ness for national command.

Five years ago: The onlyman convicted in the bombingof Pan Am Flight 103 returnedhome to Libya after his re-lease on compassionategrounds from a Scottish pris-on. (Abdel Baset al-Megrahi,said to have only months tolive because of prostate cancer,died nearly three years later,claiming his innocence.)

One year ago: A Pakistanicourt indicted former presi-dent and army chief PervezMusharraf on murder chargesstemming from the assassina-tion of Prime Minister Bena-zir Bhutto.

Today’s Birthdays: Writer-producer-director Walter Bern-stein is 95. Boxing promoterDon King is 83. Former Sen.George Mitchell, D-Maine, is81. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex-as, is 79. Former MLB All-StarGraig Nettles is 70. Broadcastjournalist Connie Chung is 68.Musician Jimmy Pankow(Chicago) is 67. Actor JohnNoble is 66. Rock singer Rob-ert Plant (Led Zeppelin) is 66.Country singer Rudy Gatlin is62. Singer-songwriter JohnHiatt is 62. Actor-director Pe-ter Horton is 61. TV weather-man Al Roker is 60. Actor JayAcovone is 59. Actress JoanAllen is 58.

Thought for Today: “Tothe eye of failure success is anaccident.” — Ambrose Bierce,American author-journalist(1842-1914?).

TODAY IN HISTORY

NEW YORK — Saying “no person isabove the law, nor beneath its protection,” aNew York prosecutor announced Tuesdaythat he would ask a grand jury to considercharges in the death of a black man placedin an apparent chokehold by a white policeofficer.

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Do-novan said an extra grand jury was beingassembled next month specifically to hearevidence in the July 17 death of Eric Garner.

“I assure the public that I am committedto conducting a fair, thorough and respon-sible investigation into Mr. Garner’s death,and that I will go wherever the evidencetakes me, without fear or favor,” Donovansaid in a statement.

Garner’s death fueled outcry and several

peaceful protests against the nation’s largestpolice department and led CommissionerWilliam Bratton to overhaul its training onuse-of-force.

The 43-year-old father of six could beheard on an amateur video shouting “I can’tbreathe!” as Officer Daniel Pantaleo placedhim in an apparent chokehold. Police saidthe officers were arresting Garner on suspi-cion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

Garner, who had asthma, later died.Donovan said his decision to take the case

to a grand jury was based on his office’s in-vestigation and the medical examiner’s rul-ing that the death was a homicide caused byneck compressions from the chokehold,chest compression and Garner’s prone posi-tion while being restrained.

Donovan said a court granted his requestfor the extra grand jury on Monday.

AROUND THE NATION

Protesters march in New York City’s Union Square on Thursday, Aug. 14, in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brownby a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of New York City man caused by a police officer’s apparent choke-hold. An extra grand jury is being assembled to hear evidence in the July 17 death of Eric Garner, the New York City man.

Photo by Michael R. Sisak | AP

Case to go to grand juryBy MICHAEL R. SISAK AND TOM HAYS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Defense: School may havewithheld Holmes records

DENVER — Defense attorneysin the Colorado theater shootingcase say the University of Colora-do might have withheld recordsthat show the school failed to acton information it had about de-fendant James Holmes when hewas a student there.

In court filings made publicMonday, Holmes’ attorneys re-vive questions about how muchthe university knew of Holmes’mental problems and whetherschool officials could have donemore to prevent the attack.

They say they have found outthat a prosecution witness sentan email to a friend that indi-cates that before the shooting,someone gave university officialsinformation about Holmes thatthey did not act on.

It’s not clear what that infor-mation is or even who the wit-ness is, because the filings areheavily redacted. A universityspokesman said Tuesday the re-cords in question are privileged

under state and federal law andthe school will argue againstturning them over to the defense.Lawyers in the case will notcomment, citing a gag order.

Holmes, then 25, dropped outof a doctoral program in neuros-cience at the University of Col-orado, Denver shortly before theJuly 2012 assault at a movie thea-ter in the Denver suburb of Aur-ora. Twelve people were killedand 70 were injured in the at-tack.

Holmes pleaded not guilty byreason of insanity to multiplecounts of murder and attemptedmurder. His attorneys have ac-knowledged he was the shooterbut say he is mentally ill andwas in the grips of a psychoticepisode at the time.

Age limit on Louisianaofficials on hold for nowBATON ROUGE, La. — Loui-

siana court officials who facenew age restrictions that couldoust them from office will be al-lowed to sign up for re-electionbids this week.

A Baton Rouge judge issued atemporary restraining orderMonday against enforcing a lawthat prohibits anyone 70 or olderfrom running for justice of thepeace or constable.

District Judge Tim Kelleygranted the request from theLouisiana Justice of the Peaceand Constables Association,which says in a lawsuit the re-striction amounts to unconstitu-tional age discrimination.

A law establishing the manda-tory retirement age of 70 for thecourt officials has been on thebooks since 2006, but it exemptedanyone elected before Aug. 15 ofthat year. Legislation this yearremoved that exemption, achange that was slated to affectabout 160 elected officials.

Kelley’s order allows anyonewho was previously exempted tosign up for re-election during thequalifying period, today throughFriday, for the Nov. 4 ballot. Thejudge also set an Aug. 29 hearingin the lawsuit to determinewhether to continue a prohib-ition against enforcing the agerestriction.

— Compiled from AP reports

WWII bomb found nearFrankfurt airport

BERLIN — A World War IIbomb found Tuesday next to ahighway near Frankfurt airportwas disposed of in a controlledexplosion, causing some disrup-tion to flight operations.

A stretch of the A3 highwaynear Offenbach, outside Frank-furt, was closed Tuesday afterthe 500-kilogram British bombwas found.

Police shut off a 1,000-meter(1094-yard) area around the site.They destroyed the bomb in acontrolled explosion after decid-ing that it wasn’t possible to de-fuse the device, news agency dpareported.

It wasn’t immediately clearhow much disruption wascaused.

Reports: Italian militaryjets collide over Italy

ROME — Italian news reports

say two Italian Tornado fighterjets have collided over easternItaly during a training missionand crashed into a wooded areathat caught fire.

A Civil Protection official toldSky TG24 TV there were no civil-ian casualties on the ground af-

ter the crash Tuesday afternoonin woods near the town of Ascoli,but she had no details about thefate of those aboard the aircraft.

The official said a firefightinghelicopter was trying to extin-guish the blaze.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD

A woman draws in a notebook as a skater performs a trick on a street bench atLisbon’s Comercio square Monday.

Photo by Francisco Seco | AP

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CONTACT US

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 Local THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

CHICAGO — CatholicExtension announced Tues-day it is providing emer-gency relief funding to sixborder dioceses that in-clude Laredo and Browns-ville.

The special emergencygrants are specific to eachdiocese’s existing needs.

“We feel we have a moral

responsibility to help thedioceses that are exhaust-ing their resources on thismonumental humanitariancrisis,” said Father JackWall, president of CatholicExtension. “No federal gov-ernment funding has beenreceived. In this vacuum,Catholic Extension is calledto step up to support theseheroic people at work in thedioceses. They are demon-

strating love and outreachto the strangers who haveshown up at their door.”

Catholic Extension’sreach continues to expanddue to growing need for es-sential resources. In under-resourced dioceses all alongthe United States-Mexicoborder, thousands of Catho-lics live in communitiesthat lack basic city supportservices and infrastructure.

In fact, among the six dio-ceses, supported throughthis initiative along or nearthe Mexican border, thereare 3.6 million Catholics.

In addition, the currentinternational crises unfold-ing on the U.S. border is es-timated to bring about90,000 unaccompanied chil-dren into the United Statesin 2014, mostly from Cen-tral American countries.

Catholic group aids diocesesSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Live, Give and Dine, a United Way fund-raiser, will take place Wednesday, Sept. 3, atMcDonald’s Restaurant, 116 U.S. Hwy. 83.

The fundraiser will run from 5 p.m. to 8p.m.

McDonald’s will donate 20 percent of allproceeds to United Way of Laredo, which ben-efits more than 20 agencies in the area.

Fundraiser forUnited Way

ASSOCIATED PRESS

For years, the Japanese compa-ny behind the world’s first andbusiest high-speed rail systemhas been itching to enter the U.S.high-speed rail market, hoping tosell one of the world’s ripest pas-senger rail markets on its breath-takingly fast Shinkansen bullettrains.

But with Central Japan Rail-way’s efforts to sell high-speedtrains on the U.S. coasts going no-where, Texas has emerged as thecompany’s best hope for intro-ducing its wildly successful tech-nology to the American market.

It also may turn out to be atransformative event in the histo-ry of the nation’s transportationsystem.

Barack Obama unveiled his vi-sion for a national network ofhigh-speed passenger rail linesthree months after being swornin as president in 2009. But theadministration’s hopes of offer-ing billions of dollars in fundingover several years never pannedout, largely due to Republicanpushback against investing somuch federal money in the pro-jects.

Meanwhile, every day in Japanthe Shinkansen shuttles nearly400,000 people the 300 miles be-tween Tokyo and Osaka, cities inthe country’s two most populous

metropolitan regions. It’s about a90-minute ride — just longenough for riders visiting fromabroad to feel as if they havestepped into some kind of futur-istic movie. Since launching in1964, the system has not recordeda single fatality.

Central Japan Railway Co., al-so known as J.R. Central, sees ahuge opportunity for exportingits technology to America, wherethe busiest passenger rail linetakes about seven hours to slogthe 400 miles between Washing-

ton and Boston.Today, there are only three sig-

nificant high-speed rail projectsin advanced development in theU.S. — in Texas, Florida and Cali-fornia. At some point during theearly planning of all three ven-tures, J.R. Central offered to sellits trains to those states but onlyfound sure footing in Texas. TheTexas project, led by a private lo-cal company working with J.R.Central, is by far the most ambi-tious.

Texas Central High-Speed Rail-

way is promising to connectHouston and Dallas with the fas-test trains at 205 mph, developedon a relatively snappy timelinewith little support from tax-payers. By contrast, the Califor-nia train will be heavily subsi-dized and take years longer to de-velop. Texas Central Railway hasset a 2021 target date for begin-ning operations while the Cali-fornia line isn’t expected to con-nect Los Angeles to San Francis-co until 2029. In Florida, aprivately funded project could be-

gin service between Miami andWest Palm Beach as early as 2016but is projected to be the slowestof the three, traveling at less than100 mph through some areas, andrun on a congested century-oldright-of-way, including a portionthat will run on a convertedfreight line.

At first blush, Texas may notseem like the ideal place in theU.S. to debut high-speed rail. Thestate’s urban centers have a his-tory of low public transportationuse, despite expanding light-railnetworks in its largest cities. Andthey are very car-oriented, with-out any significant intercity railtraffic. But all those cars indicatea whole lot of people, too: TheHouston and Dallas-Fort Worthmetropolitan areas were amongthe fastest-growing in populationnationally last year, coming infirst and third, respectively. Justas important, those very largepopulations interact with one an-other on a regular basis; the airroutes between the two metro re-gions are among the busiest inthe U.S. The land between thetwo cities is also largely flat andunpopulated, making real estateacquisition a cheaper prospectthan it would be in other majormetropolitan regions.

Even the distance between thetwo cities — about 230 miles — isconsidered an ideal length to takeadvantage of bullet train technol-ogy, company officials say.

“It was the most innately fi-nanceable corridor,” said RobertEckels, president of the TexasCentral Railway.

The bullet train that could change everything

The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed trail used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail linebetween Dallas and Houston using the same trains.

Photo by Norihiro Kataoka | The Texas Tribune

Firm hopes to enterhigh-speed rail market

By AMAN BATHEJA AND STEPHEN J. SMITHTHE TEXAS TRIBUNE

PAGE 4A Zopinion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014

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

The city of Lalish, asmany refer to the holycenter of the Yazidifaith, is a bit of a misno-mer. Wedged into theside of a small hill sev-eral hours’ drive northof Irbil in Kurdistan, thehamlet is remote andmodest and has onlyone entry point, a par-tially paved strip thatwas guarded, at the timeof my visit, by Kurdishpesh merga troops.

The small grouplooked and acted morelike parking attendantsthan hardened fighters.In the small valley be-tween the hills, gasflares dotted an other-wise tranquil landscapeseemingly undisturbedby modernity.

Days after the lastU.S. troops left Iraq inlate 2011, I found myselfcradling a cup of tea inthe Yazidi temple com-pound in Lalish, a placewhose name sounds likesomething out of a GeneRoddenberry creation.As U.S. airpower re-turns to Iraq, at leastpartly to protect thou-sands of Yazidis frompossible massacre, thatafternoon at the Yazidimecca has been on mymind.

Our visit was fortui-tously timed. Two col-leagues and I had em-barked on a researchtrip to Iraqi Kurdistanthat happened to fall be-tween the exit of U.S.forces and the arrival ofthe resurgent Sunni ji-hadism that has sinceswept through much ofwestern Iraq. After sev-eral days of meetingswith senior Kurdish Re-gional Government offi-cials, we venturednorthward out of Irbiltoward the ZagrosMountains, first to visitthe Christian town ofAlqosh, home to thetomb of the Jewishprophet Nahum, andthen to travel onward toLalish.

In Lalish, members ofthe Yazidi clergy wel-comed us warmly, gaveus a tour of their templeand explained the tenetsof their faith. Yazidisare a small group of peo-ple — there are fewerthan 700,000 worldwide,we were told. They haveno written religioustexts and no language oftheir own, which makesthe continuation of theirfaith over time both dif-ficult and impressive.

Similarly, they nei-ther believe in conver-sion, choosing not toproselytize in the sharktank of more aggressivetheologies, nor in inter-marriage among mem-bers of their strictcastes. Bedecked inwhite, our host, a dia-betic and smoker, wasfrom the middle casteand was forbidden toimbibe alcohol or eatfish. Such constraints —no language, no conver-sion and strict caste di-visions — likely explaintheir dwindling num-bers even more than thevery real historical per-secution they have expe-rienced.

The temple itself isfairly plain. Its conicalroofs ensconce the tombof Sheikh Adi, a 12th-century Lebanese-bornSufi canonized by theYazidis. Engravings and

statuettes of peacocks, adeeply venerated sym-bol, are omnipresent.Adherents, of whichthere were few that sun-ny December afternoon,would enter the templebarefoot, being carefulnot to step on thethresholds betweenrooms, and kiss the cor-ners of the shrine. Wewatched devotees, someof whom had traveledfrom Germany and Swe-den, where there arelarge Yazidi diasporas,participate in a ritual inwhich they threw asquare of cloth blindlyover their backs, hopingit would land on theshrine.

Yazidism has enjoyeda bit of a renaissanceunder Kurdish rule. TheKurdish Regional Gov-ernment, the Yazidiclergyman explained, of-ten allowed them toteach Yazidism, insteadof Islam, in theirschools. He told us thatthe Yazidis had no prob-lems with Jews, Chris-tians or Muslims — es-pecially with Jews,since they, like Yazidis,are an older faith. Al-though it had been awhile since he had re-ceived American vis-itors, he told us that U.S.soldiers had been regu-lar visitors before thedrawdown.

Our visit highlightedthe diversity of experi-ences that is Kurdistan.The very next night, weenjoyed a concert by theinternationally re-nowned Lebanese popstar Nancy Ajram,though it ended prema-turely when adoringfans began to storm thestage. A couple of nightslater we went to aChristmas party for for-eign diplomats that wasattended by many se-nior Kurdish officials.

Christmas itself is abank holiday there, andthe Christmas lights ofthe relatively well-off ar-ea of Ein Kawa — in-cluding large, lighted-upcrucifixes — could beseen from a distance.And one night thatweek, we celebrated Ha-nukkah with Iraqi Jews,Christians, Sunni Arabsand Shiite Kurds. As weexplained the meaningbehind the letters on thedreidel and noshed onsweets, we caught aglimpse of what a mod-ern and liberal MiddleEastern society couldlook like.

Victory by the IslamicState and the slaughterof Yazidis would burysuch a dream. Long re-pressed under SaddamHussein, Yazidis, Kurdsand other minoritieswere buoyed by the U.S.-led invasion. Kurdistanhas served as a havenfor many during the tur-moil of recent years, in-cluding Iraqi Chris-tians, as well as Sunnisfleeing both jihadistsand Iraqi governmentpersecution.

President Obama haswarned that the U.S.military campaign willbe a “long-term pro-ject.” Those words applyequally to the prospectsof modernity in theMiddle East. The fate ofthe Yazidis will be asmall but telling exam-ple of the future of theregion.

Scheinmann is the di-rector of policy at theJewish Policy Center.

COLUMN

Yazidis livequiet life fullof their faith

Group faces threat of extinctionfrom Islamic State militants

By GABRIEL SCHEINMANNSPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

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 solelyto verify identity and toclarify content, if neces-sary. Identity of the letterwriter must be verifiedbefore publication.

We want to assure our

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

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

ing or gratuitous abuse isallowed.

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

AUSTIN — Now thatour governor is en routeto being mugged — I’mguessing sans glasses —and fingerprinted, let’stake a look at how TheState of Texas v. JamesRichard ”Rick” Perrymight play out.

Obviously, the two-countcase against our governoris an unusual one. Texasgovernors don’t get indict-ed very often. Kind of sur-prising in itself, isn’t it?That, combined with Per-ry’s status as longest-serv-ing governor and potentialrepeat presidential candi-date, makes this case a bigdeal.

And, criminal prosecu-tion-wise, it’s an odd onein that prosecution and de-fense seem to pretty muchagree on the facts, thoughthere could be disagree-ment on motive. There’snot much doubt Perry didexactly what the prosecu-tion says he did. There is,of course, a deep divide onwhether what he did wascriminal.

No way, says the de-fense, which could start by

moving to quash the in-dictment. To do that,Team Perry would have toconvince the judge there’sno possible fact situationin which he broke the law.That can be a high hurdle.I’m three years short of alaw degree to have an edu-cated guess on this one,but it could happen.

Failing to get the charg-es dropped, there would bea trial. Here’s what you’reasking: Would it be diffi-cult for Perry to convincejurors he didn’t break thelaw? Here’s why you mightbe asking the wrong ques-tion: There might not beany jurors.

In Texas, a criminal de-fendant — other than incapital murder cases —can choose to be tried by ajudge instead of a jury. Ju-rors decide questions offact. Judges decide ques-tions of law. In this case,there might not be manyof the former and there isa huge one of the latter.

There may be scant fewquestions of fact — except,as referenced above, onmotive. Perry says he ve-toed the local district at-torney’s Public IntegrityUnit money because hethought District AttorneyRosemary Lehmberg’sDWI and subsequent be-havior were grounds for

removal. It’s possible pros-ecutors have evidence thatPerry did what he did be-cause the Public IntegrityUnit investigated and gotan indictment against anofficial of the Cancer Pre-vention Research Instituteof Texas, a Perry pet pro-ject.

There also could be aquestion as to whetherPerry, on the record say-ing Lehmberg was unfitfor office, in fact told herhe’d veto the Public Integ-rity Unit money if shedidn’t resign. The AustinAmerican-Statesman hasreported that threat hap-pened. Perry lawyer DavidBotsford, while not con-firming there was such athreat, said Monday thegovernor ”would havebeen entirely within hisrights” if he’d announcedthe threat in public priorto the veto.

This case could boildown to lawyers arguingabout whether generallyagreed-upon facts add upto a crime. If I’m Perryand I really felt I was onthe right side of the law, Imight prefer to argue thatto a judge — perhaps evenone elected as a Democrat— than a jury of 12 ama-teurs who might havemore difficulty with theintricacies and subtleties

of the law and who mightbring who-knows-what po-litical biases to the court-room.

FYI, at this point thejudge in the case is Repub-lican Bert Richardson ofSan Antonio, but he’s aheavy favorite to win aTexas Court of CriminalAppeals race and move upto that court in January.What that means is, de-pending on timing, wenow might not know whowill wind up as the judgein the Perry case.

This case is huge forTexas to the extent it out-lines limits on gubernato-rial power. In a state witha constitutionally relative-ly weak governor, the vetois arguably the most pow-erful power. Veto threatsroutinely are used to co-erce other elected officialsinto doing something offi-cial, such as when legisla-tors’ actions are guided bysuch threats.

Using a veto threat totry to coerce an elected of-ficial out of office is a dif-ferent thing. This casecould determine if it’s dif-ferent enough to be acrime.

Ken Herman is a col-umnist for the AustinAmerican-Statesman. E-mail: khermanstatesman-.com.

COLUMN

For indicted Gov. Perry, thegame of ‘Is it a crime?’ beginsGovernors aren’t indicted too often, and prosecutors and defense agree on facts

“KEN HERMAN

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 Nation THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

FERGUSON, Mo. — Fer-guson’s leaders urged resi-dents Tuesday to stay homeafter dark to “allow peace tosettle in” and pledged sever-al actions to reconnect withthe predominantly blackcommunity in the St. Louissuburb where the fatalshooting of 18-year-old Mi-chael Brown has sparkednightly clashes between pro-testers and police.

According to a statementfrom the city, Ferguson’smayor, City Council andother employees have beenexploring how to increasethe number of African-American applicants to thelaw enforcement academy,develop incentive programsto encourage city residencyfor police officers and raisefunds for cameras thatwould be attached to patrolcar dashboards and officers’vests.

“We plan to learn fromthis tragedy, as we furtherprovide for the safety of our

residents and businessesand progress our communi-ty through reconciliationand healing,” the leaderssaid in the statement Tues-day.

Benjamin Crump, an at-torney for Brown’s family,said the 18-year-old’s funeraland memorial servicewould be Monday, thoughthe time and locationhaven’t been finalized.

The National Guard ar-rived in Ferguson Mondaybut kept its distance fromthe streets during anothernight of unrest.

Protesters filled thestreets after nightfall Mon-day, and officers trying toenforce tighter restrictionsat times used bullhorns toorder them to disperse. Po-lice deployed noisemakersand armored vehicles topush demonstrators back.Officers fired tear gas andflash grenades.

Capt. Ron Johnson of theMissouri Highway Patrol,who is in charge of securityin Ferguson, said bottlesand Molotov cocktails were

thrown from the crowd andthat some officers had comeunder heavy gunfire. Atleast two people were shotand 31 were arrested, hesaid. He did not have condi-tion updates on those whowere shot. Johnson saidfour officers were injuredby rocks or bottles.

Demonstrators no longerfaced the neighborhood’smidnight-to-5 a.m. curfew,but police told protestersthat they could not assem-ble in a single spot and hadto keep moving. After thestreets had been mostlycleared, authorities orderedreporters to leave as well,citing the risk from the re-ported gunfire.

A large crowd also gath-ered Tuesday afternoon innearby St. Louis after offi-cers responding to a reportof a store robbery shot andkilled a knife-wielding man.Police Chief Sam Dotsonsaid the suspect acted errat-ically and told respondingofficers to “shoot me now,kill me now.”

Some members of the

crowd shouted “Hands up,don’t shoot,” a phrase thathas become a frequent partof protests since Brown’sdeath on Aug. 9. LikeBrown, the 23-year-old sus-pect killed Tuesday wasblack.

The latest clashes in Fer-guson came after a day inwhich a pathologist hiredby the Brown family saidthe unarmed black 18-year-old suffered a bullet woundto his right arm that mayindicate his hands were upor his back was turned. Butthe pathologist said theteam that examined Browncannot be sure yet exactlyhow the wounds were in-flicted until they have moreinformation.

Witnesses have saidBrown’s hands were abovehis head when he was re-peatedly shot by an officer.

The independent autopsydetermined that Brown wasshot at least six times, in-

cluding twice in the head,the family’s lawyers andhired pathologists said.

The St. Louis Countymedical examiner’s autopsyfound that Brown was shotsix to eight times in thehead and chest, office ad-ministrator SuzanneMcCune said Monday. Butshe declined to commentfurther, saying the full find-ings were not expected forabout two weeks.

A grand jury could beginhearing evidence Wednes-day to determine whetherthe officer, Darren Wilson,should be charged inBrown’s death, said Ed Ma-gee, spokesman for St. LouisCounty’s prosecuting attor-ney.

Wilson was recognizedduring a Ferguson CityCouncil meeting in Febru-ary, getting a special recog-nition for what Police ChiefThomas Jackson said thenwas his role in responding

to a report of a suspiciousvehicle, then strugglingwith the driver and detain-ing him for arrest until helparrived. Jackson said thesuspect was preparing alarge quantity of marijuanafor sale.

A third autopsy was per-formed Monday for the Jus-tice Department by one ofthe military’s most experi-enced medical examiners,Attorney General EricHolder said.

Holder was scheduled totravel to Ferguson later thisweek to meet with FBI andother officials carrying outan independent federal in-vestigation into Brown’sdeath.

The Justice Departmenthas mounted an unusuallyswift and aggressive re-sponse to Brown’s death,from the independent autop-sy to dozens of FBI agentscombing Ferguson for wit-nesses to the shooting.

Ferguson pledges outreach efforts after shootingBy NIGEL DUARA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZAPATA08/20— Zapata High

School tendrá su Orientaciónpara Alumnos de 9º Grado(Freshman) de 10 a.m. a 12p.m. Se discutirán los temasde graduación, endorsos,exámenes, actividades extra-curriculares, clubes disponi-bles, visitas a la escuela. Elevento es abierto solamentepara alumnos de grado Fres-hman y para sus padres.

LAREDO 08/21— El Departamen-

to Atlético de Texas A&M In-ternational University realiza-rá un evento especial a las 6p.m. en Kinesiology andConvocation Building. Habrácomida, refrescos y la opor-tunidad de conocer a los en-trenadores y estudiantes at-letas de TAMIU. Evento gra-tuito. Para más informaciónpuede llamar al 326-2168.

08/22— El Banco deAlimentos del Sur de Texas(STFB) presenta “EmptyBowls VIII”, a partir de las 8p.m. en Laredo Energy Are-na. Además de la subasta si-lenciosa, habrá concierto acargo de The Commodores.Costo del boleto varía de 10,15, y 25 dólares.

08/23— “La Mágica Mú-sica de Walt Disney” inter-pretada en vivo por The La-redo Phil, a las 7:30 a.m. enLaredo Energy Arena. Costodel boleto varía de 15, 25, y35 dólares.

08/26— Venta de bole-tos para la reunión de 25aniversario de egreso de losestudiantes de JW Nixon1989, de 6:30 p.m. a 8 p.m.en Sparkle and Dazzle, en317 de E. Calton. El costo delos boletos es de 25 dólarespara la reunión del viernes10 de octubre y de 30 dóla-res para el evento del sába-do 11 de octubre. Para másinformación puede ingresar ala página JW Nixon Eightyni-ne en Facebook.

08/27— “Foreigner” enConcierto, a las 8 p.m. enLaredo Energy Arena. Costodel boleto varía de 75, 57,43, y 33 dólares.

08/29— ‘Juicy J’ se pre-senta en Laredo Energy Are-na, a las 8:30 p.m. Es unevento de entrada general.Costo de boleto en piso: 38dólares; costo del boleto enarena, 28 dólares.

08/29— La generaciónde 1984 de Martin HighSchool celebrará una reuniónpor el 30 aniversario deegreso, a las 8 p.m. en elrancho frente a LIFE Downs,sobre Carretera 59. Costopor persona es de 20 dóla-res. Para más informaciónpuede llamar a Martha LauraMedina al (956) 740-7044 oescribirle a medinalau@ya-hoo.com.

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO08/20— Cine Club Car-

men Montejo presenta“Grandes Esperanzas”, en elAuditorio de Estación Pala-bra, a las 6 p.m. Entradagratuita.

08/20— Inauguraciónde la exposición fotográficade Octavio Paz, en EstaciónPalabra a las 7 p.m. Entradagratuita.

08/21— Jueves de Tea-tro presenta “Ponshow, unespectáculo Clown” en elTeatro Lucio Blanco, dentrode la Casa de la Cultura, alas 7 p.m. Entrada 20 pesos.

08/22— “Danssika Arteen Movimiento” invita a lasaudiciones para ‘The Nigh-tmare Before Christmas’, alas 5 p.m. en la academiaubicada en Leandro Valle yChihuahua. Requisito: Llevarropa cómoda para bailar. In-formes en danssi-ka@gmail.com.

08/22— Cine en tu Ba-rrio presenta “Sociedad delos Poetas Muertos”, en ElProgreso, a las 6 p.m. Entra-da gratuita.

— Envíe su evento aamachorro@lmtonline.com

Agendaen Breve

AUSTIN El gobernador RickPerry acudió el martes a un tribu-nal de un condado de Texas dondefue fichado por cargos graves deque abusó de su poder al vetar el fi-nanciamiento a una contraloría es-tatal.

Perry, que sopesa volver a postu-larse a la presidencia en 2016, sepresentó ante la Corte del CondadoTravis. El republicano ha argumen-tado que el caso tiene tintes políti-cos, y muchos altos miembros de supartido lo están respaldando.

Está acusado de coerción y deabuso de poder por prometer vetar

la entrega de 7,5 mi-llones de dólares a lacontraloría estatal,operada por la fisca-lía de distrito del con-dado Travis.

Perry amenazócon vetar el financia-miento si la fiscal de

distrito Rosemary Lehmberg no re-nunciaba después de que fue decla-rada culpable de conducir ebria.

Lehmberg se negó a dejar elpuesto y Perry aplicó el veto, lo quegeneró una denuncia por violacio-nes éticas.

“Voy a pelear esta injusticia concada fibra de mi ser. Y saldré victo-rioso”, dijo Perry antes de salir,

donde sus huellas digitales y su fo-tografía fueron tomadas. La dotomuestra a Perry con una delgadasonrisa y sin sus lentes oscuros demarca.

Todo este hecho no está evitandoque él realice una gira que lo lleva-rá a las votaciones anticipadas enlos estados de Iowa, New Hampshi-re y South Carolina en las próximasdos semanas. Después que su cam-paña para la presidencia en el 2012se apagara, el Republicano optó porno buscar la re-elección para gober-nador en noviembre — dándolemás tiempo para enfocarse en reha-bilitar su imagen a nivel nacional.

De ser encontrado culpable,Perry pudiera enfrentar un máximo

de 109 años en prisión — aunqueexpertos legales en el ámbito políti-co han dicho que el caso en su con-tra será difícil de vender a un jura-do.

La queja contra Perry alega quepúblicamente amenazó con vetar ypor tratar de forzar a Lehmberg arenunciar, la coaccionó. El juez Re-publicano asignado al caso ha asig-nado un fiscal especial con oficinasen San Antonio quien insiste el ca-so es más fuerte de lo que parece.

Perry ha contratado a un equipode abogados poderoso, quienes es-tán siendo pagados con fondos esta-tales para defenderlo.

Perry es el primer gobernador deTexas en ser acusado desde 1917.

GOBERNADOR DE TEXAS ACUDE A TRIBUNAL

Fichan a PerryPOR WILL WEISSERT Y PAUL J. WEBER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PERRY

PÁGINA 6A Zfrontera MIÉRCOLES 20 DE AGOSTO DE 2014

CHICAGO — Catholic Extensionanunció esta semana que estará otorgan-do fondos de asistencia ante emergenciaa seis diócesis de la frontera sur de Esta-dos Unidos. Los subsidios especiales anteemergencias son específicos para cadanecesidad existente de las diócesis.

Los fondos directos se entregarán enlas diócesis de Laredo, Las Cruces, Tuc-son, Brownsville, El Paso y San Bernar-dino.

“Sentimos que tenemos una responsa-bilidad moral en ayudar a las diócesisque están acabándose sus recursos en es-ta gran crisis humanitaria”, dijo FatherJack Wall, presidente de Catholic Exten-sion. “No se ha recibido ningún fondo delgobierno federal. En esta aspiradora, Cat-holic Extension es llamado a responder yapoyar a estas personas heroicas que la-boran en las diócesis. Ellos están demos-trando el amor y compromiso hacia per-sonas que han llegado a sus puertas”.

El alcance de Catholic Extension conti-núa expandiéndose debido a la crecientenecesidad de los recursos esenciales. Endiócesis con menos recursos a lo largo dela frontera Estados Unidos-México, milesde católicos viven en comunidades quecarecen de la infraestructura y los servi-cios de apoyo básico de la ciudad.

De hecho, entre las seis diócesis, hay3.6 millones de Católicos — muchos delos cuales viven por debajo del nivel depobreza, comparado con otras diócesis enel país.

Además de estas dificultades, la actualcrisis internacional desarrollándose en lafrontera de EU se estima que atrae aaproximadamente 90.000 niños solos a losEstados Unidos en 2014, la mayoría depaíses de Centroamérica. Esto brindauna carga sobre personal, voluntarios ytrabajadores sociales quienes deben res-ponder a la gran cantidad de población ysus necesidades.

Actualmente, nueve de las 15 diócesisde Texas son consideradas diócesis de lamisión para Catholic Extension, siendoéstas: Amarillo, Beaumont, Brownsville,El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock, San Angelo,San Antonio y Tyler.

Tan solo en los últimos cinco años,Catholic Extension ha enviado más de11.5 millones de dólares en apoyo a lasnueve diócesis de la misión.

COMUNIDAD

Subsidioayudarádiócesis

fronterizaESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El Consejo Mexicano Re-gulador de la Calidad delMezcal (CMRCM) e inte-grantes de la cadena pro-ductiva del Mezcal, hanacordado realizar la ExpoMezcal 2014, donde Tamau-lipas participará con unmínimo con tres marcas,anunciaron autoridades ta-maulipecas esta semana.

Tras una reunión de tra-bajo, se llegó al acuerdo derealizar la Expo Mezcal2014, el 21 y 22 de noviem-bre en la Ciudad de Méxi-co.

Para elegir las marcas

representantes se contacta-rá a personas especializa-das en bebidas y decidiránlos municipios que ellos de-cidirán que cuentan con ex-celente categoría, dijo Car-los Solís Gómez, Secretariode Desarrollo Rural.

La producción de mezcalen la entidad va a generaroportunidades de negociopara los productores del es-tado, ya que Tamaulipasproduce 120.000 litros anua-les y dispone de 2.000 hectá-reas de agave en 11 munici-pios que cuentan con la De-nominación de OrigenMezcal, señala un comuni-cado. Los municipios son:

Tula, Palmillas, Miquihua-na, Bustamante, Jaumave,San Carlos, San Nicolás, Ji-ménez, Méndez, Burgos yCruillas, México.

“En Tamaulipas trabaja-mos intensamente para in-tegrar al productor prima-rio en los procesos detransformación a fin deque se apropie del valoragregado de sus productos,incrementando con ello susingresos y la competitivi-dad de las cadenas produc-tivas, reflejando con ello unverdadero desarrollo delcampo Tamaulipeco”, dijoSolís Gómez en un comuni-cado.

MÉXICO

Tamaulipas asistirá a Expo Mezcal 2014ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Durante el mes de noviembre se realizará la ‘Expo Mezcal 2014’,donde Tamaulipas participará con un mínimo de tres marcas dife-rentes.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El lunes dio inicio el cicloescolar 2014 -2015 en lasescuelas de Tamaulipas

para 900.000 alumnos.El arranque oficial se reali-

zó en la Escuela Primaria“Plan de Guadalupe” de Mi-guel Alemán, México, donde si-multáneamente empezaronclases en más de 6.500 escue-las.

En Tamaulipas operan ac-tualmente 705 escuelas detiempo completo; y con 1.210escuelas de calidad, de excelen-cia y el Programa de EscuelaDigna.

En Miguel Alemán, el Go-bernador Egidio Torre Cantúhizo entrega simbólica de másde 650.000 paquetes de útilesescolares, así como más de80.000 piezas de mobiliario y

equipo escolar para escuelasde los 43 municipios.

Torre destacó la importan-cia de los apoyos y estímulosque se entregan a los niños yjóvenes estudiantes con el úni-co objetivo de que cuenten contodas las herramientas necesa-rias para preparase mejor ycontinúen en la escuela.

El Gobierno de Tamaulipasbeneficia con becas a 186.000alumnos con una inversión de560 millones de pesos.

El Secretario de Educación,Diódoro Guerra Rodríguez,mencionó que este ciclo esco-lar 2014-2015, inicia en un mar-co de mayor certidumbre.

El mobiliario escolar se re-novó en más de 1.500 escuelas,además de que se les ha dotadode materiales y tecnologíaseducativas. Igualmente, la bi-blioteca digital amplió sus

acervos a más de 10.000 títulos,asignándoles recursos adicio-nales por más de 1.500 millo-nes de pesos.

En las escuelas de Tamauli-pas laboran 51.000 docentes.

“Refrendamos en este cicloque hoy inicia, que nuestrosindicato seguirá creando lascondiciones necesarias parauna relación de respeto insti-tucional sin olvidar que somoslos primeros en comprometer-nos a dar nuestro mejor es-fuerzo, dijo el Secretario Gene-ral de la Sección 30 del SNTE,Rafael Méndez Salas.

Por su parte el PresidenteMunicipal de Miguel Alemán,Ramiro Cortés Barrera agrade-ció la presencia del mandata-rio estatal en el arranque ofi-cial de este nuevo ciclo escolary reconoció los apoyos del go-bierno estatal.

MIGUEL ALEMÁN

CICLO ESCOLAR2014-2015

Dos alumnos de la Escuela Primaria ‘Plan de Guadalupe’ en Miguel Alemán, México, muestran los artículos escolares re-cibidos por parte del Gobierno de Tamaulipas, como parte del inicio del Ciclo Escolar 2014-2015, el lunes.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Entregan a alumnos material de apoyoTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Sports&OutdoorsWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

The Zapata volleyballtournament unfolded overa two day span, welcomingin some formidable oppo-nents. After all the dust set-tled, the Lady Hawks tookhome the championshipwith a gutsy performanceagainst Laredo LBJ.

The third place trophywent to Laredo Martin fol-lowed by Rio Grande CityLa Grulla. The consolationchampionship went toCrystal City.

Zapata’s Alexis Alvarezwas named the most valua-

ble player for the tourna-ment. The All-Tournamentteam consisted of Zapata’sIsela Gonzalez, Tere Vil-larrreal and Cassie Garcia,LBJ’s Francis "Twiggy" To-bias, Amy Garza and An-nette Gallegos, Martin’sAshley De Anda, La Grul-la’s Alexia Andrade andCrystal City’s MariaFlores.

The Lady Hawks tookdown Crystal City, Martinand LBJ in the champion-ship game. Zapata beatCrystal City 2-0 (25-18, 25-13) while also downingMartin in straight sets (25-19, 25-23). In the final game,

Zapata topped the LadyWolves 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21) for the title.

LBJ started off the tour-nament with a 2-0 victoryover La Joya Juarez-Lin-coln (25-8, 25-15), plus wonin two sets over La Grulla(25-19, 25-15).

Martin started the tour-nament with a victory overPSJA Southwest (25-14, 25-15). The only loss for theLady Tigers was to Zapata.

The Lady Hawks contin-ue to navigate throughtheir non-district scheduleas they welcome LaredoUnited South Tuesdaynight.

Clara Sandoval can bereached at Sandoval.Cla-ra@Gmail.com

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL: ZAPATA LADY HAWKS

Tourney champs

The Lady Hawks protected home court winning the Zapata tournament after defeating Laredo duo LBJ and Martin along with Crystal City.

Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times

Lady Hawks win Zapata tournamentBy CLARA SANDOVAL

THE ZAPATA TIMES

LANDOVER, Md. — Ifthe Cleveland Brownspick a quarterback basedsolely on numbers,there’s not much eitherJohnny Manziel or BrianHoyer did to show he de-serves the job.

If the choice is basedon maturity, the hot-shotrookie’s obscene gesturelost him some ground tothe nondescript sixth-year veteran.

Manziel raised hismiddle finger toward theopponents’ bench as hereturned to the huddlelate in the third quarterof Monday night’s 24-23loss to the WashingtonRedskins. Truth be told,it was one of the fewtimes a Browns QB ac-tually found his intendedtarget.

“It does not sit well,”Cleveland coach MikePettine said. “It’s disap-pointing, because whatwe talk about is beingpoised and being focused.... That’s a big part of allfootball players, especial-ly the quarterback.”

Manziel called the mo-ment a “lapse of judg-ment” and suggested it

was brought about by an-other game of unprinta-ble verbal grief from an-other team’s players andfans. “I get words ex-changed throughout theentirety of the game, ev-ery game, week afterweek, and I should’vebeen smarter,” Manzielsaid. “It was a ’MondayNight Football’ game, andcameras were probablysolid on me, and I justneed to be smarter aboutthat.

“It’s there, and it’s pre-sent every game, and Ijust need to let it slide offmy back and go to thenext play.”

NFL: CLEVELAND BROWNS

Manziel flipsbird to ‘Skins

By JOSEPH WHITEASSOCIATED PRESS

Browns quarterback JohnnyManziel flipped off Washing-ton’s bench during a presea-son loss Monday.

Photo by Richard Lipski | AP

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES State WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014

ANGLETON — A drunkdriver did not deserve “exe-cution” by a Texas fatheraccused of taking the lawinto his own hands in a fitof rage over the killing ofhis two sons in a wreck, aprosecutor told jurors onTuesday.

David Barajas is accusedof fatally shooting Jose Ban-da in December 2012, min-utes after Banda plowed in-to a pickup truck that Bara-jas and his two sons hadbeen pushing on a ruralroad. Twelve-year-old DavidJr. died at the scene and 11-year-old Caleb died at a hos-pital. Barajas’ truck hadrun out of gas about 100yards from the family’shome.

Barajas’ attorney told ju-rors his client did not killBanda and was focused onlyon saving his sons.

In opening statementsTuesday in Barajas’ murdertrial, prosecutor BrianHrach told jurors Bandamade a horrible decision bydrinking and driving,

“He deserved severe legalpunishment, but he did notdeserve a public execution,”Hrach said.

Barajas allegedly left thescene of the accident, re-trieved a gun from his homeand returned to kill Banda.

Sam Cammack, Barajas’attorney, told jurors Barajasnever left the crash site.Cammack portrayed Bara-jas as a father who was des-perate to help his sons andwas covered with theirblood after he tried to per-form CPR on the boys.

“When police get theremy client is doing what hewas doing the whole time,trying to save his children’slives,” Cammack said.

Dashcam video of thecrash scene played for ju-

rors Tuesday after testimo-ny had begun broughtmany in the courtroom totears. Barajas kept his headdown as the video wasplayed.

On the video, Barajas can

be seen kneeling on theground near a roadsideditch where the body of hisson David Jr. had landed. Awoman can be heardscreaming, “My babies.Why? Oh my God, please

help them.” David Barajas’wife, Cindy, and their infantson and 8-year-old daughterhad also been in the truck.They were not seriouslyhurt.

Legal experts said thecase will be difficult to pros-ecute given the lack of hardevidence: no weapon was re-covered, no witnesses identi-fied Barajas as the shooterand gunshot residue testsdone on Barajas came backnegative.

An even greater chal-lenge for prosecutors couldbe overcoming sympathy forthe father. Many people inthe town of Alvin where thetragedy occurred, 30 milessoutheast of Houston, havesupported Barajas. Somehave said they might havedone the same thing in asimilar situation. The trialis in the county seat of An-gleton, Texas.

Hrach tried to minimizethe absence of a murder

weapon, saying a bullet frag-ment from a .357 caliberweapon was found at themurder scene and an openbox with .357 caliber ammu-nition was found in Barajas’home.

Witnesses will testify thatthey saw Barajas leave thescene and then come backand approach Banda’s vehi-cle, going up against the car,appearing to be hidingsomething.

When 911 calls wereplayed for jurors during tes-timony Tuesday, Cammacktried to suggest Barajaswould not have had enoughtime to shoot Banda.

On one call, screamingcan be heard in the back-ground as an unidentifiedcaller told a dispatcher aboy is “bleeding badly ...he’s in half. It’s bad.”

Cammack highlighted forjurors the timeline, whilequestioning dispatcherGrace Gambino.

Dad who shot drunk driver called ‘execution’By JUAN LOZANO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Shown are Cindy Barajas, Jenessah Barajas, Caleb Barajas, DavidBarajas and David Barajas Jr. Caleb and David Jr. were killed Dec. 7,2012, as the boys and their father were pushing their truck on a ru-ral road after it had broken down.

Photo courtesy of Barajas family | AP

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTERESTYTD

Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgYTD

Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgAT&T Inc NY 1.84 5.3 10 34.48 -.17 -1.9

Aeropostl NY ... ... ... 3.87 +.63 -57.4

AEP NY 2.00 3.8 15 52.20 +.73 +11.7

Apple Inc s Nasd 1.88 1.9 16 100.53 +1.37 +25.4

BkofAm NY .20 1.3 18 15.45 ... -.8

Caterpillar NY 2.80 2.6 18 107.30 +.32 +18.2

CCFemsa NY 2.17 2.0 ... 110.83 -.13 -9.0

CmtyHlt NY ... ... ... 51.40 -.26 +30.9

ConocoPhil NY 2.92 3.7 13 79.91 +.57 +13.1

Dillards NY .24 .2 15 110.23 +1.67 +13.4

EmpIca NY ... ... ... 7.53 -.07 -10.9

ExxonMbl NY 2.76 2.8 13 99.49 -.03 -1.7

Facebook Nasd ... ... 81 75.29 +.70 +37.8

FordM NY .50 2.9 11 17.36 -.07 +12.5

GenElec NY .88 3.4 19 26.05 -.02 -7.1

HewlettP NY .64 1.8 12 35.48 +.14 +26.8

HomeDp NY 1.88 2.1 23 88.23 +4.64 +7.2

iShEMkts NY .71 1.6 ... 45.15 +.21 +8.0

Intel Nasd .90 2.6 17 34.34 -.07 +32.3

IntlBcsh Nasd .50 1.9 13 25.90 +.15 -1.7

IBM NY 4.40 2.3 12 190.07 +.71 +1.3

Lowes NY .92 1.8 23 51.52 +1.07 +4.0

Lubys NY ... ... ... 5.32 -.02 -31.1

MetLife NY 1.40 2.6 13 53.63 +.14 -.5

MexicoFd NY 3.07 ... ... 28.10 -.26 -4.1

Microsoft Nasd 1.12 2.5 17 45.33 +.50 +21.2

Modine NY ... ... 5 13.63 -.01 +6.3

NokiaCp NY .51 6.4 ... 8.02 +.20 -1.1

Penney NY ... ... ... 10.25 +.38 +12.0

RadioShk NY ... ... ... .63 -.04 -75.9

S&P500ETF NY 3.58 1.8 ... 198.39 +1.03 +7.4

SanchezEn NY ... ... ... 32.49 +.13 +32.6

Schlmbrg NY 1.60 1.5 22 109.42 +1.28 +21.4

SearsHldgs Nasd ... ... ... 35.50 +.34 -10.7

SonyCp NY .24 1.3 ... 18.86 +.34 +9.1

Sprint NY ... ... ... 5.39 -.23 -49.9

UnionPac s NY 2.00 1.9 20 104.39 +.60 +24.3

USSteel NY .20 .5 ... 37.65 -.23 +27.6

UnivHlthS NY .40 .4 23 112.19 +.49 +38.1

WalMart NY 1.92 2.6 15 74.88 +.39 -4.8

WellsFargo NY 1.40 2.8 13 50.86 +.17 +12.0

Zynga Nasd ... ... ... 3.11 +.03 -18.2

STOCK MARKET INDEXES

MONEY RATES CURRENCIES

MUTUAL FUNDS

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Prime Rate

Discount Rate

Federal Funds Rate

Treasuries

3-month

6-month

5-year

10-year

30-year

DAILY DOW JONES

17,151.56 14,719.43 Dow Industrials 16,919.59 +80.85 +.48 +2.07 +12.77

8,515.04 6,237.14 Dow Transportation 8,414.89 +9.26 +.11 +13.71 +31.77

576.98 467.93 Dow Utilities 554.68 +6.48 +1.18 +13.07 +15.28

11,334.65 9,246.89 NYSE Composite 10,929.66 +43.15 +.40 +5.09 +16.01

4,509.16 3,573.57 Nasdaq Composite 4,527.51 +19.20 +.43 +8.40 +25.29

886.27 728.63 S&P MidCap 879.72 +4.05 +.46 +6.79 +18.95

1,991.39 1,627.47 S&P 500 1,981.60 +9.86 +.50 +7.21 +19.93

1,452.01 1,170.62 S&P MidCap 1,420.83 +8.34 +.59 +5.83 +17.19

21,108.12 17,305.21 Wilshire 5000 20,989.23 +96.61 +.46 +6.51 +19.55

1,213.55 1,009.00 Russell 2000 1,162.47 +4.07 +.35 -.10 +13.02

52-Week YTD 12-moHigh Low Name Last Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg

3.25 3.25

0.75 0.75

.00-.25 .00-.25

0.03 0.04

0.05 0.05

1.58 1.62

2.40 2.45

3.21 3.28

Last PvsWeek

THE MARKET IN REVIEW

Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m WS 580 85.96 -0.2 +20.7/A +8.7/E 4.25 2,500

Columbia ComInfoA m ST 2,536 58.28 +0.3 +28.3/B +14.7/D 5.75 2,000

Eaton Vance WldwHealA m SH 919 13.03 +4.1 +36.4/A +18.6/D 5.75 1,000

Fidelity Select Biotech d SH 8,218 210.44 +11.6 +36.3/A +28.9/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select BrokInv d SF 609 73.34 +0.2 +18.2/A +11.4/C NL 2,500

Fidelity Select CommEq d ST 260 31.85 -1.8 +19.0/E +12.5/E NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Computer d ST 672 80.58 +1.4 +18.4/E +18.6/B NL 2,500

Fidelity Select ConsFin d SF 147 15.42 -0.7 +11.4/D +14.5/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Electron d ST 1,732 78.42 -1.4 +41.0/A +17.9/B NL 2,500

Fidelity Select FinSvc d SF 1,195 84.98 +0.3 +18.4/A +9.9/D NL 2,500

Fidelity Select SoftwCom d ST 3,010 118.16 0.0 +26.2/C +22.3/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Tech d ST 2,548 124.00 +3.0 +26.6/C +19.3/A NL 2,500

T Rowe Price SciTech ST 3,098 43.04 +3.3 +30.5/B +17.6/B NL 2,500

Vanguard HlthCare SH 10,301 210.59 +1.8 +34.2/B +20.5/C NL 3,000

Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m ST 3,554 16.46 -1.0 +25.8/C +19.8/A 5.75 750

Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min InitName Obj ($Mlns)NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -ForeignLargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng inNAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%.Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.

NYSE10,929.66 +43.15

NASDAQ4,527.51 +19.20

Volume

Name Vol (00) Last ChgApple Inc s 673108 100.53 +1.37

Zynga 307056 3.11 +.03

Intel 287959 34.34 -.07

Microsoft 272428 45.33 +.50

Facebook 261044 75.29 +.70

SiriusXM 229949 3.56 +.01

Vringo 219462 1.40 +.22

Cisco 200969 24.64 +.01

PwShs QQQ 196327 98.70 +.55

ChiFnOnl 178176 8.09 +.27

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg%ChgDigitalAlly 7.08 +3.43 +94.0

ChinaHGS 5.30 +1.84 +53.2

Aquasition 10.00 +2.00 +25.0

AWoodmk 36.88 +5.55 +17.7

SalixPhm 160.80+21.63 +15.5

Depomed 14.94 +1.78 +13.5

SinoCoking 2.55 +.30 +13.3

QKL Strs 3.47 +.37 +11.9

ClearSign 8.79 +.92 +11.7

MandDigtl 5.01 +.51 +11.2

Name Last Chg%ChgElizArden 15.05 -4.56 -23.3

Oncothyr 2.30 -.48 -17.3

SignalGn n 4.82 -.74 -13.4

PerfectWld 20.18 -2.78 -12.1

Quotinet n 9.02 -1.08 -10.7

Achaogen n 9.29 -1.10 -10.6

ElPLoco n 29.91 -3.29 -9.9

Neovasc g 5.31 -.54 -9.2

NewLink 25.53 -2.46 -8.8

VaporCp rs 2.60 -.25 -8.8

DIARYAdvanced 1,446

Declined 1,225

Unchanged 140

Total issues 2,811

New Highs 101

New Lows 34

1,506,525,936

Name Vol (00) Last ChgS&P500ETF 520722 198.39 +1.03

NokiaCp 508812 8.02 +.20

Penney 487841 10.25 +.38

Sprint 438593 5.39 -.23

BkofAm 413904 15.45 ...

iShEMkts 301850 45.15 +.21

Aeropostl 288295 3.87 +.63

Petrobras 242649 17.46 +.60

B iPVix rs 236418 27.50 -.30

AMD 231240 4.27 +.06

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg%ChgSkilldHcre 7.37 +1.22 +19.8

Aeropostl 3.87 +.63 +19.4

EKodak wt 7.15 +1.10 +18.2

EKodk wtA 5.50 +.69 +14.3

Mobileye n 36.60 +3.26 +9.8

Imprivata n 14.95 +1.18 +8.6

TJX 58.56 +4.66 +8.6

Adeptus n 26.93 +2.10 +8.5

Imperva 29.80 +2.28 +8.3

DmRsBW 6.83 +.49 +7.7

Name Last Chg%ChgJumei n 33.10 -4.00 -10.8

Lannett 36.37 -4.03 -10.0

Coupons n 13.23 -1.06 -7.4

USEC Inc 5.04 -.39 -7.2

CSVInvNG 4.34 -.30 -6.5

StarGas 5.55 -.38 -6.4

StJoe 21.41 -1.44 -6.3

BHPBil plc 65.22 -4.30 -6.2

WhitingTr 2.15 -.14 -6.1

Molycorp 2.03 -.12 -5.6

DIARYAdvanced 1,978

Declined 1,123

Unchanged 130

Total issues 3,231

New Highs 190

New Lows 18

2,596,186,722Volume

STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filingwith SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent with-in the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un= Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes:b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (salescharges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during theweek. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left.Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unof-ficial.

Australia 1.0743 1.0725

Britain 1.6618 1.6728

Canada 1.0944 1.0888

Euro .7508 .7485

Japan 102.91 102.58

Mexico 13.0515 13.0516

Switzerlnd .9091 .9064

Last Pvs Day

British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. Allothers show dollar in foreign currency.

uu uu

15,900

16,200

16,500

16,800

17,100

17,400

F AM A M J J

16,320

16,640

16,960Dow Jones industrialsClose: 16,919.59Change: 80.85 (0.5%)

10 DAYS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

boys’ homes Monday.Police had to break into

one boy’s house as he re-sisted and they took himinto custody as he tried torun, officials said.

One boy allegedly saidhe had a relative with agun that he might be ableto get. Police contactedthat relative, who said theweapon was secured.

The two teenage boys,who were about to be-come seniors, were ar-rested on charges of mak-ing threats and conspir-acy. They were being heldat a juvenile facility.

Miller didn’t provide in-formation about the dy-namic of their relation-ship. He said the suspects’parents were cooperatingwith investigators.

The FBI joined the in-vestigation to help searchfor evidence on the com-puters seized from theboys’ homes.

Officials must investi-gate all threats, and dis-cretion comes later asthey decide how to dealwith students who make

them, said Ken Trump,president of the NationalSchool Safety and Securi-ty Services, a consultingfirm.

“They’re better off tofind dozens of threats thatare not credible than tohave one case that’smissed,” he said.

In Trump’s opinion, theSouth Pasadena threatwas reasonably well-de-veloped based on informa-tion police have released.

SCHOOL Continued from Page 1A

South Pasadena, Calif., police Chief Arthur Miller announces Tuesday that his department arrestedtwo South Pasadena High School students suspected of planning a massacre at the school.

Photo by Nick Ut | AP

Agents assumed the camou-flaged crew that joined in pullingthe immigrants from the canal’smilky green waters was a tacticalunit from the Texas Departmentof Public Safety. Only later didthey learn that the men belongedto the Texas Militia, a group thatdresses like a SWAT team andcarries weapons but has no law-enforcement training or author-ity of any kind.

The situation ended peacefullywith the immigrants getting ar-rested and the Border Patrol ad-vising the militia members “toproperly and promptly” identifythemselves anytime they encoun-ter law-enforcement officers. Butthe episode was unsettlingenough for the Border Patrol tocirculate an “issue paper” warn-ing other agents.

The presence of armed militiamembers working on their ownin a region known for humansmuggling, drug smuggling andillegal immigration has addedone more variable to an already

complex and tense situation.Although the Aug. 6 incident in

Mission resulted in no harm, it’snot hard to imagine deadlier out-comes throughout the RioGrande Valley, a wide area pa-trolled by more than 3,000 borderagents, as well as hundreds ofstate troopers, game wardens,deputies and local police officers.Gov. Rick Perry is also sending asmany as 1,000 National Guardtroops.

“How do they identify them-selves? Do they have badges? Howdo we know who they are?” askedJ.P. Rodriguez, a spokesman forthe Hidalgo County Sheriff ’s Of-fice. “If they’re all just dressed incamos, it’s kind of hard to distin-guish whether they’re law en-forcement or not. ... There’s a lotof potential for stuff to go wrong.”

One year ago, a member of anArizona Minuteman border-watch group was arrested forpointing a rifle at a sheriff ’s dep-uty he apparently mistook for adrug smuggler. Maricopa County

Sheriff Joe Arpaio warned of“chaos if you’re going to have pri-vate citizens dressed just like ourdeputies taking the law into theirown hands.”

If militia members aren’t care-ful in their dealings with real lawofficers, “there could be somedead militia out there,” he added.

The Border Patrol declined tocomment on the encounter inMission, referring questions to ageneral statement on militias re-leased last month by U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protection.

That statement said the agency“does not endorse or support anyprivate group or organizationfrom taking matters into theirown hands as it could have disas-trous personal and public safetyconsequences.”

The militia members who sur-prised the Border Patrol thatnight told agents they wanted tohelp with the “border crisis” andthat they supported the agency’sefforts, according to a copy of theissue paper obtained by The As-

sociated Press.Emails sent to a website for the

Texas Militia were not answered.The spot where the incident

happened is a popular smugglingcorridor where a thumb of Mex-ican farmland pushes a deeppocket into South Texas. The ca-nal, an earthen channel that de-livers water to the city of Mis-sion, is 6 to 8 feet deep. Immi-grants who emerge from thecanal have only to cross a singlesorghum field to reach a road.

A surge of illegal immigrationput renewed attention on the bor-der this summer. About 63,000 un-accompanied child immigrantswere arrested between Octoberand July, the vast majority ofthem in South Texas. Some mili-tia and self-described “patriot”groups responded with a call toseal the border.

Barbie Rogers, founder of thePatriots Information Hotline, saidat last count there were 13 suchteams on the Texas border. If theyare each similar in size to the one

that showed up in Mission, thatwould be fewer than 100 peopleoperating on the 1,255-mile Texasborder.

Rogers uses a website and hot-line to coordinate donations andsupply lines to militia groups inthe field. Asked how many peoplethat amounted to, she said, “Icouldn’t tell you that because itcould compromise their security.”

She said the teams she knowskeep sheriffs’ offices and the Bor-der Patrol apprised of their activ-ity. Asked about the Texas Militiamembers appearing in Missionwithout identifying themselves,Rogers said, “They should have. Ican’t imagine that they didn’t.”

The teams, she said, try to ad-vise the Border Patrol as soon asthey spot illegal activity.

They will detain people untilauthorities arrive, although Rog-ers acknowledged they have noauthority to hold anyone.

“Usually the people comingacross are so scared they just sitthere and wait,” she said.

BORDER Continued from Page 1A

Lehmberg refused to re-sign and Perry carried outthe veto, drawing an ethicscomplaint from a left-lean-ing government watchdoggroup.

Perry was indicted by agrand jury in Austin, a lib-eral bastion in otherwisefiercely conservative Texas.

But he isn’t letting thecase keep him from apacked travel schedule thatwill take him to the early-voting states of Iowa, NewHampshire and South Car-olina over the next twoweeks. After his 2012 presi-dential campaign flamedout, the Republican optednot to seek re-election asgovernor in November —leaving him more time tofocus on rehabilitating hisimage nationally.

If convicted on bothcounts, Perry could face amaximum 109 years in pris-on — though legal expertsacross the political spec-trum have said the caseagainst him may be a toughsell to a jury. No one dis-putes that Perry has theright to veto any measures

passed by the state Legisla-ture, including any parts ofthe state budget.

But the complaintagainst Perry alleges thatby publicly threatening aveto and trying to forceLehmberg to resign, he co-erced her. The Republicanjudge assigned to the casehas assigned a San Anto-nio-based special prosecu-tor who insists the case isstronger than it may out-wardly appear.

Perry has hired a team ofhigh-powered attorneys,who are being paid withstate funds to defend him.

Perry is the first Texasgovernor to be indictedsince 1917. Top Republicanshave been especially quickto defend him, though,since a jail video followingLehmberg’s April 2013 ar-rest showed the district at-torney badly slurring herwords, shouting at staffersto call the sheriff, kickingthe door of her cell, andsticking her tongue out.Her blood alcohol level wasalso three times the legallimit for driving.

CHARGED Continued from Page 1A

PHOENIX — Heavy monsoonseason rains that swept acrossArizona on Tuesday led to dra-matic rescues, road closures andflight delays as a series of fast-moving storms pummeled thestate.

A helicopter crew rescued twowomen and three dogs from ahome surrounded by swift-mov-ing waters in a town about 30miles north of Phoenix, whileelsewhere a small trailer parkwas evacuated, a school wasflooded and first-responderspulled motorists from partially-

submerged vehicles.The National Weather Service

issued a flash flood warning formuch of the metro area andnorth of the city where up to 8inches of rain fell by midday insome of the mountainous regionsalong Interstate-17, the mainnorth-south freeway in Arizona.

Dramatic aerial television foot-age showed a river of muddy wa-ter rushing down I-17 about 25miles north of Phoenix as motori-sts changed lanes to avoid thedeluge. Other footage showed au-thorities pulling an elderly wom-an from a van stuck in rushingfloodwaters, scenes repeatedacross the region throughout the

day as motorists became trappedwhile driving through typicallydry desert washes.

Gov. Jan Brewer said her officewas monitoring the effects of thestorm and will take additional ac-tion if needed.

“It looked absolutely devastat-ing,” Brewer said. “For the last10, 15 years, we’ve never seenanything the likes of this.”

Officials said nearly 5 inchesof rain fell around the town ofNew River, where a helicopterdropped a rescuer onto the roofof a home to pull the women anddogs to safety after one had beenwaving a white piece of fabricfrom a window to draw attention.

That’s more rain than that ar-ea saw during all of last sum-mer’s monsoon season, said me-teorologist Gary Woodall of theNational Weather Service.

A 15-mile stretch of north-bound I-17 was reopened laterTuesday after authorities wereforced to reroute vehicles for sev-eral hours into the southboundlanes sending them back to Phoe-nix because of floodwaters.

“It looks like the heavy rain ispulling out to the east and north-east out of that area,” Woodallsaid Tuesday afternoon. “Butwith all the rain that fell thismorning, we’re going to see con-tinued flooding, continued runoff

probably into the early evening.”Kathy Mascaro said her typi-

cal 15-minute commute fromhome to work in the Phoenix ar-ea more than doubled because ofthe traffic nightmares caused bythe flooding.

“It’s crazy. You’d think, howcould the desert flood, but it real-ly does,” Mascaro said. “I’ve nev-er seen it this bad. I’ve been hereover 20 years and it has neverflooded this bad.”

The desert around Phoenixsees very little rain most of theyear, so when storms roll throughwith such intensity as they didTuesday, the water has nowhereto go.

Floods force dramatic rescues in Phoenix areaBy BRIAN SKOLOFF AND PAUL DAVENPORT

ASSOCIATED PRESS

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014