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NEW VAN FOR VETSVEHICLE READY TO HELP MILITARY VETERANS GET TO VA CLINICS, 3A

As students gear up for the first day ofschool, teachers are busy preparing theirlesson plans, reorganizing their class-

rooms, and attending conferences during staffdevelopment days.

During staff development week, Zapata Coun-ty Independent School District staff learned theywill be following a “fish” philosophy theme forthis year where four main principles will be fol-lowed through out the year. The principles in-clude play, be there, make their day, and choosethe attitude.

ZCISD has also adopted “teach strong” as afifth principal, said Dee Olivarez, a special edu-cation teacher at Zapata Middle School.

“It helps us get a good attitude for the schoolyear,” she said.

Also, the “Catch the Energy and Release thePotential,” motto purposely depicts the story ofa fish being caught and released to coincidewith the fish philosophy theme.

EDUCATION

BACK TO SCHOOL

ABOVE: A teacher-aide creates an outdoor scene in a self-contained classroom Thursday afternoon as teachers and staff get readyfor the first day of school Monday, at Zapata Middle School. BELOW: A school employee prepares supplies in a classroom.

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Teachers told ‘fish’ is this year’s philosophyBy LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See SCHOOL PAGE 11A

Prior to the budget adop-tion in September, ZapataCounty officials are prepar-ing for two public hearingsto discuss additional de-partmental cuts in order to

alleviate the $7 million def-icit the county is undergo-ing in next year’s budget.

All departments wereasked to decrease their in-dividual budgets to assistwith the loss in revenuethat the county experi-enced in the mineral indus-

try, said County Judge Ro-salva Guerra.

“This year in particularhas been extremely diffi-cult because of the loss inmineral value,” she said.“Some county depart-ments’ heads have been ve-ry understanding and have

been cooperating withmaking some cuts.”

The first hearing isscheduled for Aug. 26 togive residents in the com-munity the opportunity tomake comments, recom-

COUNTY

Budget woesPublic hearings may help make more cuts

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See COUNTY PAGE 11A

An item approved lastweek by the Zapata Coun-ty Commissioners Courtthat moved several dutiesfrom the county treasurerto the county judge, coun-ty auditor and personneldirector needs to be clar-ified, officials have said.

County Judge RosalvaGuerra placed an item onthe last agenda to moveresponsibility of the tele-phone and retirement sys-tems, insurance and elec-tric utility away fromCounty Treasurer RomeoSalinas. The item was ap-proved by the court, butthe extra work has provedto be overwhelming forthe other departments,said Commissioner JoseE. Vela, who was the onlycommissioner to opposethe item.

The county auditor isnow responsible for theelectric utility bills with-

out the help of the countytreasurer’s office, Velaadded.

“It’s really the countysuffering,” he said. Thedecision they made waswrong and that’s why Ivoted against it.”

According to Commis-sioner Eddie Martinez,some people don’t fullyunderstand the changethat took place, so it willbe put back on the agendafor the next Commission-ers Court meeting, sched-uled for Sept. 13, to clarifywhat duties fall underwhom, he said.

“It’s getting out ofhand, so we need bettercontrol,” County AuditorDoroteo Garza said.

The intention of theitem authorizing countyauditor, county judge, andpersonnel director ismainly to have more thanone person authorized toview certain information

COMMISSIONERS

New look atchange in

dutiesDepartments feel crunch of more

work after shift away from treasurerBy LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See DUTIES PAGE 11A

Nearly $1.7 million infederal funds providedby the U.S. Departmentof Health and HumanServices was presentedto the South Texas Coun-cil on Alcohol and DrugAbuse by CongressmanHenry Cuellar onWednesday to benefitHIV/AIDS programs andbring awareness to thecommunity.

“This grant will helpus identify people at riskof HIV/AIDS infections,”said Romeo Rodriguez,STCADA executive direc-tor. “In addition, it willhelp to educate, createawareness, and supportindividuals with HIV/AIDS.”

This is the secondcheck presented toSTCADA by Cuellar, saidHumberto Gonzalez, Ph.D., STCADA chairman ofthe Board of Directors.

“We are in the serviceof improving the qualityof life,” he said. “Whenwe improve the qualityof life of an addict weimprove the quality oflife for the whole fam-ily.”

Cuellar said some maybe infected with the dis-ease and unaware of it.

“This is why we mustact now. This diseasedoes not discriminateanymore.” Cuellar said.“It targets both youngand old, men and wom-en, and educated and

PUBLIC HEALTH

Grant to helpHIV/AIDSprograms

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See GRANT PAGE 11A

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

SATURDAY, AUG. 21A hunter’s education course will

be offered at Zapata County Public Li-brary today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.and Sunday, Aug. 22 from noon to 5p.m. Every Hunter, including out-of-state hunters, born on or after Sept. 2,1981, must successfully complete aHunters Education Training course tohunt any animal in Texas. The mini-mum age to receive certification is 9years old. For more information, con-tact Marshall Davidson at (956) 337-5917.

Back by community demand, La-redo Little Theatre will hold two encoreperformances of ’La Cindy del Barrio’by Jeannie Lopez today at 2 p.m. and7 p.m., at 4802 Thomas Ave., admis-sion is $5.

SUNDAY, AUG. 22Join the Krayons for Kids Car-

show and Concert today at the ZapataCounty Pavilion. A $5 admission is re-quested at the door, all of which goesto purchasing school supplies for theZapata community. E-mail kur-tiz2007@live.com.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 25South Texas Food Bank features

a concert by 1970s musical sensationThree Dog Night. Floor table tickets for10 start at $1,000. Table tickets in-clude dinner and access to silent auc-tion of artwork bowls. Concert-onlytickets are $15 and are available at theLaredo Energy Arena and Ticketmaster-.com. Call the South Texas Food Bankat (956) 726-3120.

FRIDAY, AUG. 27Gold and platinum certified art-

ist, Mark Chesnutt, performs at theCasa Blanca Ballroom tonight at 8 p.m.Tickets for admission begin at $15. Formore information, visit markchesnutt-.com

SATURDAY, AUG. 28League of United Latin American

Citizens Council 14 presents the thirdannual Football Kick-Off TailgatingCook-Off today from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.at El Metro Park and Ride. The eventwill feature a cook-off competition inthe following categories: fajitas, fingerribs, boneless brisket and babybackribs. There will also be a beefsteak-eat-ing contest. Admission will be $3 foradults. For more information, call(956) 286-9055.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 4Texas A&M International Universi-

ty hosts Autmus Fest 2010. Gate opensat 4:30 p.m. $10 pre-sale tickets areavailable at all Pocket locations. Tick-ets are $15 at the gate. Visit www.aut-musfest.com.

Sponsored by the Laredo RotaryClub, a rodeo will be at L.I.F.E. DownsArena today at 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 9Texas A&M International Universi-

ty reveals two art collections for themonth of Sept., Fields and Monu-ments: Paintings by Joey Fauerso andsculptures by Riley Robinson at theCenter for the Fine and PerformingArts Gallery. Call (956) 326-2654.

SUNDAY, OCT. 2Funny man Gabriel "Fluffy" Igle-

sias returns to Laredo Energy Area to-night, ready to knock audience socksoff with his Comedy Central Live, TheFluffy Shop, Comedy Tour. Tickets areon sale now at all Ticketmaster loca-tions, including the LEA Box Office,various H.E.B. stores or charge byphone at 1-800-745-3000. For more in-formation, call (956) 791-9192.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6Shakira, one of the most exciting

and successful global artists in recenthistory, will perform in Laredo tonightat the Laredo Energy Arena. For moreinformation, call (956) 791-9192

SUNDAY, OCT. 10As part of the Steinway Series, Tex-

as A&M International University invitesinternationally acclaimed and prize-win-ning pianist, Ning An, to perform a pi-ano recital featuring music by J.S.Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Freder-ic Chopin today from 4 to 6 p.m. Theeven is free and open to the public.For more information, contact FritzGechter at (956) 326-2639.

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, Aug. 21,the 233rd day of 2010. Thereare 132 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in Histo-ry:

On Aug. 21, 1959, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower signedan executive order making Ha-waii the 50th state.

On this date: In 1609, Galileo Galilei dem-

onstrated his new telescope toa group of officials atop theCampanile in Venice.

In 1807, Robert Fulton’sNorth River Steamboat set offfrom Albany on its return tripto New York, arriving some 30hours later.

In 1831, Nat Turner led a vi-olent slave rebellion in Virgin-ia resulting in the deaths of atleast 55 white people. (He waslater executed.)

In 1858, the first of seven de-bates between Illinois senato-rial contenders Abraham Lin-coln and Stephen Douglastook place.

In 1878, the American BarAssociation was founded inSaratoga, N.Y.

In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s“Mona Lisa” was stolen fromthe Louvre Museum in Paris.(The painting turned up twoyears later, in Italy.)

In 1940, exiled Communistrevolutionary Leon Trotskydied in a Mexican hospitalfrom wounds inflicted by anassassin the day before.

In 1963, martial law was de-clared in South Vietnam as po-lice and army troops began acrackdown on Buddhist anti-government protesters.

In 1983, Philippine opposi-tion leader Benigno S. AquinoJr., ending a self-imposed exilein the United States, was shotdead moments after steppingoff a plane at Manila Interna-tional Airport.

In 1991, the hard-line coupagainst Soviet President Mik-hail S. Gorbachev collapsed inthe face of a popular uprisingled by Russian federationPresident Boris N. Yeltsin.

Ten years ago: Rescue ef-forts to reach the Russian nu-clear submarine Kursk endedwith divers announcing noneof the 118 sailors survived.

Five years ago: Pope Bene-dict XVI triumphantly endedhis four-day trip to his nativeGermany, celebrating an open-air Mass for a million peoplein Cologne. Robert A. Moog(mohg), whose self-named elec-tronic synthesizers revolution-ized music in the 1960s, diedin Asheville, N.C. at age 71.

One year ago: Libyan leaderMoammar Gadhafi welcomedwith a hug the only man con-victed of the 1988 Lockerbiebombing that killed 270 peopleand praised Scotland’s leadersfor “their courageously rightand humanitarian decision” torelease him. A high-level dele-gation of North Korean offi-cials paid their respects to lateformer South Korean Presi-dent Kim Dae-jung. Today’sBirthdays: Former footballplayer Pete Retzlaff is 79. Ac-tor-director Melvin Van Pee-bles is 78. Playwright MartCrowley (“The Boys in theBand”) is 75. Singer KennyRogers is 72. Actor ClarenceWilliams III is 71. Rock-and-roll musician James Burton is71. Singer Harold Reid (TheStatler Brothers) is 71. SingerJackie DeShannon is 69. Foot-ball Hall of Famer Willie La-nier is 65. Thought for Today:“Old age is the most unexpect-ed of all the things that hap-pen to a man.” — Leon Trot-sky (1879-1940).

TODAY IN HISTORY

DALLAS — A man arrested after an hour-long chase that ended when he crashed a sto-len pickup through a fence at Dallas LoveField was charged with evading arrest, crim-inal mischief, unauthorized use of a vehicleand aggravated robbery, officials said Friday.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman KathyColvin said it still is too early to say if Mi-chael Laurence Browne, 46, will face federalcharges.

Despite Browne breaching the perimeterfence, law enforcement responded quickly, hesaid.

“All airports have an approved securityplan that includes perimeter security,” LuisCasanova, a spokesman with the Transporta-tion Security Administration, said. “But Iwould think in light of this incident there

would be some considerations made.” Daniel Weber, the city’s director of avia-

tion, said Friday the department had notmade any decisions about whether there willbe changes to airport security. He said theresponse to the incident was effective.

“We’re going through the investigation,”Weber said. “We have no conclusions as faras whether any changes need to be made.”

He said Love Field is in line with FederalAviation Administration regulations.

Police said the truck Browne used to leadpolice on the chase Thursday was stolen in acarjacking the day before. A knife was foundin the truck as well as property that makesBrowne a suspect in other robberies.

Browne remained in jail on Friday on$300,000 bond. Kim Leach, Dallas Countysheriff ’s spokeswoman, said he did not yethave an attorney of record.

AROUND TEXAS

Law enforcement officers gather around where a chase ended on a taxi runway at Love Field in Dallas, on Thursday. Policechased a carjacking suspect onto the airport grounds before taking Laurence Browne, 46, into custody. He’s charged withevading arrest, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of a vehicle and aggravated robbery.

Photo by L.M. Otero | AP

Suspect faces chargesBy ELIDA S. PEREZASSOCIATED PRESS

Court dismisses appeal ofnuke bond vote

AUSTIN — The state’s highestcourt has dismissed an appeal bytwo West Texas sisters opposedto a new radioactive dump site.

The sisters wanted results ofan election that narrowly ap-proved $75 million in bonds forthe project overturned.

The bond referendum allowsAndrews County to borrow tobuild the waste disposal site forWaste Control Specialists.

Flames engulfed 2 menburned at oil field

LUBBOCK — Two men criti-cally burned in a West Texas oilfield accident didn’t know natu-ral gas was leaking around thewell and were engulfed by flamesafter a fireball erupted.

The men work for Basic Ener-gy Services, Inc. The worstburns were on their faces andhands, and they remained incritical condition at a Lubbockhospital Friday.

Oil companies to pay $6.9million settlement

HOUSTON — Marathon Oiland Dominion Oklahoma TexasExploration and Production willpay $6.9 million to resolve claimsthe two Houston-based energycompanies separately underpaidnatural gas royalties to the gov-ernment and Native Americans.

Dominion Oklahoma TexasExploration and Production Inc.will pay $2.2 million and Mara-thon Oil Co., $4.7 million.

US rig count rises thisweek by 11 to 1,651

HOUSTON — The number ofrigs actively exploring for oil andnatural gas in the U.S. increasedby 11 this week to 1,651.

On Friday, 985 rigs were ex-ploring for natural gas and 655for oil. Eleven were listed as mis-cellaneous. A year ago this week,the rig count stood at 985.

Of the major oil- and gas-pro-ducing states, Texas lost fourrigs, and Wyoming lost two.

Victoria attorney indictedin child porn case

VICTORIA — An attorneywho chairs the Victoria CountyDemocratic Party is facing childpornography charges.

Stephen Jabbour, 57, was ar-rested Friday in Victoria oncharges of possession and distri-bution of child pornography.

A grand jury Thursday indict-ed Jabbour on seven counts ofdistributing child pornographyvia the Internet and four countsof possessing child pornography.

Houston-area womanmauled by pack of dogsHOUSTON — A woman

mauled by at least three dogs ina Houston-area suburb has beenairlifted to a hospital where she’sin serious condition.

The attack occurred around 11p.m. Thursday in South Houston.Witnesses called 911 when theyheard a woman screaming andsaw three dogs running away.

— Compiled from AP reports

Israel, Palestinians tohold talks

WASHINGTON — Plunginginto the Mideast peacemaker’srole that has defeated so manyU.S. leaders, President BarackObama on Friday invited Israeland the Palestinians to try anewin face-to-face talks for a historicagreement to establish an inde-pendent Palestinian state and se-cure peace for Israel.

Negotiations will resume Sept.2 in Washington.

47 immigrants arrested inNew England

BOSTON — Federal immigra-tion officials say a three-monthoperation in four New Englandstates has led to the arrest of 47people suspected of being gangmembers or having ties to gangs.

Many of the suspects had his-tories of violent crimes includingattempted murder, car jacking,assault and battery with danger-

ous weapons, assault to rape andpossession of firearms.

Bear kills caretaker;owner had legal troubleCOLUMBIA STATION, Ohio

— A bear attacked and killed itscaretaker at the home of a manwho kept a menagerie of danger-ous, exotic beasts and ran afoulof animal regulators a few yearsago by staging wrestling matchesbetween bears and humans.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Sandra Cleays shows her 1983 class ring from Scottsbluff High in Gering, Neb.,on Aug. 5. Cleays lost the ring in 1983. She figured it was gone forever. Then, onAug. 4, she got a call from a stranger who found it and wanted to return it.

Photo by Dawn Bowen/Gering Citizen | AP

Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501Business Manager, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 324-1226Chief Accountant, Thelma Aguero .............. 728-2553General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510Retail Adv. Manager, Raul Cruz................... 728-2511Classified Manager, Sandra Valderrama....... 728-2525Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505Editor, Diana Fuentes ................................ 728-2581City Editor, Kirsten Crow .......................... 728-2543Sports Editor, Dennis Silva II......................728-2579Business Journal Editor, Joe Rutland .......... 728-2529Entertainment Editor, Emilio Rábago III ....... 728-2564Online Editor, Julie Daffern ....................... 728-2565

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY(956) 728-2555

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

Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.“Let your smile be

a sign of happiness& good health”

1520 Corpus Christi StreetTelephone (956) 726-0160

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 Zlocal PAGE 3A

ASSAULTDeputies arrested Jose Fran-

cisco Cruz, 18, and charged himwith assault causing bodily injuryat about 11 p.m. Aug. 12 in the300 block of Falcon Lane. An in-cident report states that Cruzshot a known female juvenile withan airsoft gun. The man wasbooked and transported to ZapataRegional Jail, where he was heldin lieu of a $5,000 bond.

BURGLARYDeputies responded to a

burglary alarm at about 10:30p.m. Aug. 12 in the 5200 block ofPascual Lane in the SiestaShores. An incident report statesthat someone tried to enterthrough the north side window.

Deputies say someone broke thewindow with a rock.

A 43-year-old woman report-ed around 6 p.m. Aug. 13 in the300 block of Gonzalez Street thatunknown people burglarized herblack 2007 Chevy Cavalier andstole the stereo.

Deputies responded to aresidential alarm at about mid-night Aug. 13 in the 2100 blockof Siesta Lane in the SiestaShores. Deputies say the unknownoffenders stole about $1,000worth of items, including a lawnmower, fishing rods and reels.

A 60-year-old woman re-ported a burglary of a residencearound 8 a.m. Aug. 15 in the1400 block of Laredo Street. Dep-uties say an air conditioning unitwas taken from the property.

HIT AND RUNDeputies responded to a hit-

and-run incident around 6:45 p.m.Wednesday at the parking lot ofJunior’s Drive Inn near the cornerof First Street and Texas 16. A70-year-old man reported that awoman driving a green Expeditionstruck his vehicle and drove off.

POSSESSIONAuthorities arrested Erik

Cisneros, 20, and charged himwith possession of marijuana atabout 10:30 p.m. Aug. 15 in the

intersection of Fourth and Mira-flores streets. Deputies were dis-patched to said intersection for aman urinating in public. An inci-dent report states that deputiesapproached a brown ChevroletMalibu and observed a brownblunt wrap and green leafy sub-stance believed to be marijuana.Cisneros was booked and trans-ported to Zapata Regional Jail,where he was held under a$5,000 bond.

Sandalio Ramos-Chapa, 41,was arrested on charges of pos-session of a controlled substanceat about 11 p.m. Monday at a

residence in the intersection of10th Street and Ramireño Avenue.Deputies also seized 46 foil pack-ets of cocaine and $2,402. Theman was booked and transportedto Zapata Regional Jail, where hewas held in lieu of $25,000 bond.

THEFTA 19-year-old woman report-

ed around 3:30 a.m. Aug. 12 atthe Zapata County Sheriff’s Officethat someone stole jewelry fromher home. Deputies say the itemsstolen are valued at $600.

THE BLOTTER

apply and need to bephysically able to drive,said Ulani M. Levy, chiefof voluntary services.

“In order for this towork, we have to have vol-unteers,” Garza said.

“At least six drivers areneeded,” Levy said.

Applications are availa-ble at the Veterans Ser-vice Office in the countycourthouse with VeteransService Officer ManuelUribe.

For more information,contact Texas Valley

Congressman HenryCuellar secured $1.9 mil-lion from the U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Hu-man Services to purchaseseven vans that will trans-port veterans living in lo-cal or rural areas to doc-tors’ appointments in Lare-do or McAllen’s outpatientclinics.

Zapata County will behousing one of the sevenvans at the county court-house, Cuellar announcedThursday.

“Many times veteransin the area have a hardtime finding a ride to theirmedical appointments and,for many, this can addmore stress to their lives,”Cuellar said. “This vanwill transport veterans tothe nearest VA (VeteransAffairs) facility where theyreceive primary and spe-cialty care services.”

The VA Texas ValleyCoastal Bend Health CareSystem worked closelywith Cuellar to ensure thevans made it to Zapata andsurrounding areas.

Cuellar said the vancomes at no extra cost tothe county as the VA ad-ministration will be takingcare of regular mainte-nance and gasoline. Thecounty will be responsiblefor securing volunteerdrivers.

The van has been se-cured and the next step isfor the county to recruitvolunteers and come upwith a schedule for themto work as well as organizeseveral pick up points, saidFroy Garza, VA public af-fairs officer/congressionalliaison.

Local routes are beingdeveloped within 60 milesof the clinics.

Anyone interested involunteering will have to

Coastal Bend Health CareSystem at (956) 430-9339 orVCBVolunteer@va.gov.

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

Vans to help veteransget to VA clinics

The Disable American Veterans van is shown in front of the Zapa-ta County Courthouse during a press conference on Thursday af-ternoon.

Photo by Ulysses S. romero | The Zapata Times

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

A property trade is ex-pected to resolve a contro-versial land dispute be-tween the Zapata Countyand San Ygnacio residentJoel Ruiz.

“He made an offer andit is up to the lawyers tosettle with Mr. Ruiz.,” saidCommissioner GabrielVillarreal. “We don’tknow what’s going to hap-pen.”

Earlier this year, thetown of San Ygnacio wassurveyed for a road pave-ment project and severalcounty property encroach-ments were found, includ-ing one of Ruiz’s proper-ties. After months of dis-

pute, the county decidedto seek legal actionagainst Ruiz.

There have not beenany admissions of en-croachment, but the coun-ty is pursuing negotia-tions with Ruiz, said JuanCruz, attorney for ZapataCounty.

“It looks positive,” hesaid.

Both parties thought itbe best to come up with asolution instead of contin-ue with legal action, Cruzadded. Attorney Fortuna-to Paredes will also beworking with Cruz on thecase.

“I got word that they ac-cepted it, but I haven’t re-ceived any paperwork,”Ruiz said, referring to the

trade.According to Vela, Ruiz

proposed a property tradeto Cruz to avoid litigationand the inconvenience ofremoving a wall and otherproperty of current ten-ants.

County officials havenot designated a specificproject for the donatedland, but see a range ofpossibilities and easier ac-cess to a cemetery, Velaadded.

As for the alleged en-croaching property, thecounty would have used itfor public access to thelake, a boat ramp or birdsanctuary, officials said.

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

Swap could help county,Ruiz avoid lawsuit

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

GRANT WILL HELP COMPLETE WATER LINE

Courtesy photo

Zapata County received a $531,041 Community Development Block Grant from the Texas Developmentof Rural Affairs, on Aug. 10. Zapata County Judge Rosalva Guerra and Zapata County Projects Coor-dinator Mario Gonzalez-Davis hold a copy of the block grant check. Funds will be used for Phase II ofwater improvements to the 24-inch main raw water line from the booster pump to the new water plantsite. The grant will be used in conjunction with Texas Water Development Board Water Plant loan fundsto complete the project.

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

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

If the First Amendmenthas any meaning, thenthe backers of the pro-

posed Islamic cultural cen-ter — not merely amosque — have an indis-putable constitutionalright to go forward withtheir project near — not at— ground zero. About this,President Obama wascompletely correct in hisinitial comments about thesubject to a Muslim audi-ence at a White Housemeal celebrating the end ofthe daily Ramadan fast.

This was not merely arestatement of the obvious.Some opponents of theCordoba Initiative twoblocks from where theWorld Trade Center oncestood expressed disbeliefthat a New York City com-mission voted unanimous-ly to approve the project.On what basis? Conserva-tives who cherish privateproperty rights and theConstitution should be thefirst to refute the impliedabuse of government au-thority. Whether the pro-ject is popular, whether itsfinancing is sufficientlytransparent or whether itsleader is sufficiently mod-erate is immaterial tothose rights.

But if the free speechclause of the First Amend-ment has any meaning,then opponents of the Cor-doba Initiative also havean indisputable right tovoice their objection to theproject. About this, Obamawas also absolutely right,if muddled. A day after hisiftar pronouncement aboutthe constitutional proprie-ty of the project, Obamamade a distinction be-tween the right to buildthe Islamic center in lowerManhattan and the wis-

dom of doing so. For this,he was pilloried by liberalsfor allegedly caving in toFox News and right-wingbigotry. Just because ImamFeisal Abdul Rauf has theright to build a center forwhat he calls interfaith tol-erance and respect nearground zero, that doesn’tmean he should. Doing soin proximity to a placemany Americans regardas an open wound is likelyto create enmity. Obamacould have done more onthis point and deflate thedemagoguery in the debatesurrounding the Islamiccenter. He also should domore to promote the no-tion of tolerance — the os-tensible organizing con-cept of the Cordoba Initia-tive — and not only toAmericans.

Americans have, on thewhole, demonstrated a re-markable degree of toler-ance. If it is true to its pur-pose, the Cordoba Initia-tive can play aroleelsewhere.

But if Imam Rauf andthe supporters who arefunding his $100 millionproject really want to pro-mote tolerance, theyshould build their centersin Pakistan, where Sufiand Shiite Muslims, Chris-tians and other religiousminorities are routinelyslaughtered; in Iran, wherethe government has wageda campaign of oppression,imprisonment and execu-tion against members ofthe Bahai faith; or in Sau-di Arabia, where the pro-fession of any faith otherthan Islam is outlawed andconversion by a Muslim ispunishable by death.

Tolerance is a wonder-ful thing — too wonderful,in fact, for President Oba-ma or Imam Rauf to allowAmericans to selfishlykeep it to themselves.

COLUMN

Rights and abad idea

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

WASHINGTON — Ishould feel quiteat home at the tea

parties. I was present atthe last round of them. Itwas another country andanother time, but the an-ger was as genuine, thesense of betrayal by thepolitical class was as real,and the idea of an endan-gered heritage was aspainful.

Britain’s empireAlso, then as now, there

was a certain disconnectfrom reality.

The place of these teaparties was throughoutthe dwindling British Em-pire.

There, middle-aged peo-ple, who had spread theconcept of British excep-tionalism and borneWorld War II, felt every-thing they had built andfought for was slippingaway.

Country’s roleWhat was seen as the

terrible leftward drift wasopposed virulently by aphalanx of patriotic or-ganizations, but most no-tably the League of Em-pire Loyalists, founded in1954.

The Loyalists were goodyeomen who loved the Bri-tain they believed had ex-isted and was endangered,along with the position ofBritain as the world’sdominant power. They be-lieved in Britain’s specialwrit to civilize the world,

police it and sometimessettle it. Compared to themilitarists of the 18th and19th centuries, these weresoft imperialists but be-lievers nonetheless, heldtogether in a loose feder-ation throughout the Brit-ish colonies and domin-ions.

In Britain, the Loyalistsformed a political bloc onthe far right of the Con-servative Party. Theywere on the fringe in Bri-tain, but they were takenseriously in the coloniesas a legitimate expressionof wide discontent withthe decline of British tra-ditions, British leadershipin business and Britishmoral authority.

Anti-authorityLoyalists inside and

outside Britain railedagainst politicians in Lon-don, much as today’s TeaParty activists railagainst Washington.

In Britain, support forthe Loyalists was limitedbecause so much had al-ready changed. The Brit-ish public had already ac-cepted the dissolution ofthe empire; after all, itsjewel, India, was gone.

ChangesAlthough the Loyalists

raged against non-whiteimmigration into Britain,this had not yet beenidentified by most peopleas a potential society-changing occurrence.Mainline British Conser-vatives feared that theleader of the loyalists, Ar-thur Chesterton, had been

a fascist sympathizer inthe 1930s. Even though hehad broken with the fas-cists and written a bookabout it, he was still sus-pect.

‘Good old days’Where I was in Rhode-

sia, the Loyalists wereseen as the hope for sav-ing Britain, of returningher to greatness andsomehow turning theclock back to “the goodold days,” whenever theywere imagined to havebeen.

Many, including myparents, believed the Loy-alists would bring about aglorious new Elizabethanera under the young Eli-zabeth II, who had beencrowned a year before thefounding of the League ofEmpire Loyalists.

Right wingersFor those outside of the

British Isles, the leaguewas back to the future.But in London and acrossBritain, the Loyalistswere just a right-wingpressure group (known inBritain as a “gingergroup”), claiming supportfrom a handful of Conser-vative Members of Parlia-ment but shunned by theTory leadership.

Comic characterIn the United Kingdom,

they were sidelined as“Colonel Blimps,” a satiri-cal comic figure who rid-iculed the conservativemiddle class and had been

taken up and enshrined incriticism by George Or-well.

The League of EmpireLoyalists lasted 10 years,but its aspirations weresealed after six years withPrime Minister HaroldMacmillan’s “wind ofchange” speech.

The league’s domesticissues — the fight againstsocialism, the uncon-trolled flood of immi-grants from Asia and theCaribbean, and the grow-ing power of the unions —were taken up by more so-phisticated entities, likeThe Monday Club, operat-ing inside the Conserva-tive Party.

SimilaritiesThere is a limit to the

analogy of the Tea Partymovement to the Loyalistmovement of the 1950sand 1960s. But the peopleare eerily the same. Theyshare a decency, the senseof being let down and thefeeling that somethinghas to be done.

Empire’s goneIn the British case,

nothing was done untilMargaret Thatcher muchlater addressed some ofthe concerns of the Loyal-ists (unions, state owner-ship, immigration andglobal stature). She didnot bring back the em-pire, but she did make theBrits feel a lot betterabout not having it any-more.

Who will do that for thegood people of the TeaParty movement?

COLUMN

Tea Party inspires memoriesBy LLEWELLYN KING

HEARST NEWSPAPERS

Melissa M. Ramirez isproud to have had the op-portunity to live in Zapa-ta all of her life.

She is the daughter ofVictor and Romelia Mar-tinez and excelled in herstudies before graduatingin the top 5 percent fromZapata High School in2002 with high hopes ofbecoming a speech pa-thologist.

But instead, after grad-uating from Texas Wom-an University with abachelor’s degree, Melis-sa was presented with anunforeseen opportunityto carry on the legacythat her father-in-law,Santiago Ramirez Jr.started more than 40years ago. Realizing theimportance of helpingpeople prepare for the un-expected and giving peaceof mind to the individual,Melissa started workingtoward becoming an in-surance and financial ser-vice agent.

After days and nightsstudying, and many ex-ams, Melissa acquired allthe licenses and certifica-tions needed. Now she isa Farmers insurance andfinancial service agentfor Ramirez InsuranceAgency.

Melissa is happily mar-ried to Marcos Ramirezand they have two beauti-ful children, Marcos Jr.and Natalia. Melissa’shusband is also a life-longresident of Zapata. He is a

graduate of Texas A&MInternational Universityand is the owner of a lo-cal paving and construc-tion company, which hasbeen successful in com-pleting several infrastruc-ture projects.

Most of Melissa’s freetime is spent at homewith her family. Week-ends usually consist ofcooking a good dinner,watching a movie andplaying board games. Shealso enjoys reading withher son and simplywatching her infantdaughter explore newthings. Recently, Melissa’snew hobby is playing thecello.

She said she feels ex-tremely blessed with thelife God has provided forher, and it has been muchgreater than anything shehad ever planned. Sheloves her family and thetight-knit community aswell as helping all hercustomers and getting toknow their individual in-surance needs.

Melissa hopes to con-tinue serving her commu-nity for the next 40 yearsas a Farmers Insuranceagent, and one day one ofher children will carryon the legacy for another40 years.

(Dora Martinez is aZapata native who pub-lished the Hispanic Newsin San Antonio for 21years. She can be reach atthe zapatatimes@att.net,(956) 324-1226 or (956) 765-5113.)

COLUMN

Woman grabsopportunity

DORA MARTINEZ

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

PAGE 6A Zentertainment SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

worldwide for almost twodecades. The Monterreynative is also an actor, andin 2005 won the “BailandoPor Un Sueño” competi-tion along with his part-ner, Mariana Vallejo Isr-rade. The victory made thewrestler even more fa-mous, prompting his re-turn to wrestling in 2008after retiring due to injuryin 2006.

The excitement andhigh-flying action of Mexi-can lucha libre is return-ing to Laredo Saturday.

In the same week thatformer Major League Base-ball slugger Jose Cansecomade his debut with theLaredo Broncos, VeteransField will host other bignames — in the lucha librerealm, at least.

Scheduled to appear atSaturday’s event are sever-al well known wrestlerswho play the part of Chip-pendale dancers, entertain-ing the ladies in the crowd.

Dubbed “solo para mu-jeres,” or “for women on-ly,” the wrestling matcheswill feature one of Mexi-co’s most recognizablenames, Latin Lover. BornVictor Manuel ResendizRuiz, Latin Lover has beena professional wrestler

Featured matches

Latin Lover has wrestledwith many organizations,including the AAA, WWE(then World Wrestling Fed-eration) and the ConsejoMundial de Lucha Libreand has been world cham-pion in many divisions.

He will tag-team withMarco Corleone and Intoc-able for a three-on-threematch against L.A. Park,

Pirata Morgan and Liz-mark Jr.

Other featured bouts in-clude Histeria, Psicosisand Alebrije against Orien-tal, Charly Manson andMr. Aguila; La Super Par-ka, H. de Dr. Wagner, ElAngel Blanco and Athoragainst H. de L.A. Park,Olimpico, Corazon de Bar-rio and Asterisco Jr. Alsoat the event will be RossyMoreno, Esther Moreno,Cinthia Moreno, Diabolica,

Tiffany and Sexi Flor.Show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for kids 9and under, and $10-$15 pre-sale; door prices are $15-$20. Front row admissionis $30, but are limited.

Tickets are available atall Danny’s restaurantsand Tortamex, as well asthe Veterans Field box of-fice the day of show.

(Emilio Rabago III maybe reached at 728-2564 orerabago@lmtonline.com)

Latin Lover headlines Saturday’s lucha libreBy EMILIO RÁBAGO III

THE ZAPATA TIMES

The South Texas FoodBank and the Laredo Ener-gy Arena are hosting Emp-ty Bowls IV, a fundraiserfor the food bank onWednesday.

The event will feature asit-down dinner for itssponsors, honor Sen. Judi-th Zaffirini, D-Laredo, forher contributions in thefight against hunger, and aconcert by 1970s hit ma-chine Three Dog Night.

According to the band’swebsite, Three Dog Nightwas the most popular rockband in America duringthe early ’70s, with 21 con-secutive Top 40 hits and 12straight Gold LPs. By late1975, they had sold nearly50 million records.

Founding members CoryWells and Danny Huttonon lead vocals, keyboardistJimmy Greenspoon, guita-rist Michael Allsup, bassplayer Paul Kingery anddummer Pat Bautz are still

touring the United States. The band’s No. 1 hits in-

clude “Mama Told Me (NotTo Come),” “Joy to TheWorld” and “Black AndWhite.” They’ve beenaround since 1969.

Tickets are $15-$35 andthey are available at theLEA box office, Ticketmas-ter.com or at the South Tex-as Food Bank, located at1907 Freight at Riverside.

Arena officials expectanywhere from 4,000 to5,000 people, similar to lastyear’s attendance numbers.

The art partNearly 50 artists from

Laredo and the surround-ing area have participatedin creating bowls — actual-ly, painting them with theirunique touch.

The artists’ bowls will besold in a silent auction thenight of Empty Bowls IV.

Artists that participated

this year include ArmandoHinojosa, Daniel Maltz-man, Julio Mendez, DebbieGoldberg, Ymelda Salas,Sylvia DeLeon, Nicole Fo-ran, Joe Olivares, Alex Gar-za, Maru Portillo, J. R.Alexander, Olivia de la Gar-za, Jason Martinez, RobertGarcia, Alejandra Garza,Diego Diaz, Mary Baus-man, Denise Rodriguez,Maria Sierra and MarthaSantos.

Also, Hilda Rubio, Mar-tin Cantu, Miki Rodriguez,Blanca Pena, Jorge Rojas,Silke Gage, Selika de losSantos, Delta Garcia, OlgaCardenas, Andrea Lozano,Enrique Botello, SharonCruz, Carlos Rene RamirezJr., Ana Garcia, Zaira Rom-ero, Linda LaMantia, AliciaGonzalez, Tony FigueroaJr., Ana Laura de la Garza,Jessica Diez Barroso, EvaRaymond, Arturo Noche-buena, Christina Castillon,Jose Luiz Aun and PattyGoldberg.

Celebrity bowlsThere are even collecta-

ble bowls autographed bycelebrities such as Rihan-na, T.I., Ke$ha, Chicago,Foreigner, Intocable, ThreeDog Night, Daddy Yankee,George Lopez, Carlos Men-cia, David Spade, Lisa Ku-drow and Mayor Raul Sali-nas. Also, sports personali-ties Chad Hennings, RoyWilliams, Bill Bates, Fred-die Benavides and coachTerry Ruskowski. Ofcourse, they will be availa-ble for purchase.

“A fact from EmptyBowls III last year: MayorSalinas’ bowl outsold abowl signed by EnriqueIglesias,” said Pancho Fa-rias, of the South TexasFood Bank.

The food bank serves21,000 families, 6,000-plus el-derly and 6,000-plus chil-dren per month.

For more information,call the South Texas FoodBank 726-3120.

Three Dog Night lead singer Danny Hutton and his band perform with the San Antonio Symphony at the Majestic Theater in downtownSan Antonio in this February 2005 photo. The band will play at the Laredo Energy Arena on Wednesday for the Empty Bowls IV fund-raiser. Tickets are still available.

File photo by Nicole Frugé | San Antonio Express-News

Three Dog Night concert WednesdayTHE ZAPATA TIMESLAS VEGAS — Miss Uni-

verse 2009 Stefania Fernan-dez says it’s clear in hermind who’ll replace her asthe world’s top beautyqueen.

“I have my five favoritesbut I can’t tell you. I’ll tellyou August 24,” one day af-ter the Miss Universe pag-eant, Fernandez said Mon-day. “It’s a secret.”

But when asked whethershe thought the competitionwas close or clear, Fernan-dez said: “It’s clear.”

Fernandez, of Venezuela,won last year at age 18. Itwas Venezuela’s secondstraight and sixth overallwin since the pageant start-ed in 1952.

Fernandez said at a gath-ering of more than 20 Lati-na contenders that Hispanicwomen are always a threatto win because they workhard to look good.

She said in Venezuela,girls prepare for Miss Uni-verse by taking classes tolearn English, public speak-ing and how to properly puton makeup.

Each of 83 contestantswon their national competi-tion to make Miss Universe.The two-hour pageant co-owned by NBC and DonaldTrump is scheduled for

Aug. 23 at the MandalayBay Events Center, hostedby rocker Bret Michaels andNBC news correspondentNatalie Morales.

Contestants will competein swimsuit, evening gownand interview competitions,with the show aired inroughly 190 countries.

Miss Great Britain TaraVaitiere Hoyos said shethinks the competition willcome down to someonemaking an unexpected runthe night of the show.

“I think this year, it’s ex-tremely close. You couldthink you have your top 15but there’s some people thatwill shine in different areasthat will definitely surpriseyou,” the 20-year-old said.“With nerves and every-thing in dresses — just littledifferent factors included —I don’t think you can knowuntil the final day.”

Hoyos said late nights,pageant officials and issuesback home can take theirtoll on competitors, so thegirls have to lean on one an-other to make it throughthe one-of-a-kind experience.

Miss Haiti Sarodj Bertinsaid she thinks the competi-tion is tough.

“It’s a very hard competi-tion. All the girls are so dif-ferent, but all of them shinein their way,” said Bertin,23.

Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez, from Venezuela, poses with MissUniverse pageant contestants next to the “Welcome to FabulousLas Vegas” sign on the Las Vegas Strip in this Wednesday, Aug. 11photo. The pageant airs Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC and Telemundo.

Photo by Las Vegas News Bureau/Darrin Bush | AP

New Miss Universegets crown Monday

By OSKAR GARCIAASSOCIATED PRESS

SÁBADO 21 DE AGOSTONUEVO LAREDO —

Festival Infantil “Cultura Azte-ca” presenta actividades ytextos sobre la Cultura Azte-ca con la Tía Por Qué a las4 p.m. en Estación Palabra.Entrada libre.

NUEVO LAREDO — Ci-ne Club Infantil presenta “ElRey León 3: Hakuna Matata”a las 3:30 p.m. en EstaciónPalabra. Entrada libre.

NUEVO LAREDO — EnSábados Infantiles se presen-ta “Observo, Pinto y Siento”en celebración del nacimientode Rufino Tamayo a las 4p.m. en el Museo Reyes Me-za. Entrada libre.

DOMINGO 22 DE AGOSTONUEVO LAREDO — El

Grupo Expresión se presentacon “Cero Iván Tres” a las 7p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blan-co de la Casa de la Cultura.Entrada Libre.

NUEVO LAREDO — Enel marco de Domingos Fami-liares se presenta “Te Cuentouna Historia: Nuestras Leyen-das ‘La Llorona’” a las 4p.m. en el Museo de HistoriaNatual. Entrada libre.

LUNES 23 DE AGOSTONUEVO LAREDO —

“Leer por Rebeldía” una se-sión de lectura con Mau Pas-ta, Edgar Alan Poe, Marquésde Sade y Charles Bukowsloa las 6 p.m. en Estación Pa-labra. Entrada libre.

MARTES 24 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — La WBCA

tendrá la develación de suPoster Oficial de la Celebra-ción 114 a las 6 p.m. en elLaredo Center for the Arts.

NUEVO LAREDO — Ci-neclub “Emilio Fernández”presenta “El Monstruo de laLaguna Negra” a las 7 p.m.en el Teatro Lucio Blanco dela Casa de la Cultura. Entra-da libre.

MIÉRCOLES 25 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — Hoy es la

campaña de recaudación defondos “Empty Bowls” queorganiza el Banco de Alimen-tos del Sur de Texas y la La-redo Energy Arena, con lapresentación de Three DogNight. Adquiera sus boletospor 15, 25 y 30 dólares, através de Ticketmaster y laTaquilla de LEA.

SÁBADO 28 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — El Concilio

14 de los LULAC presenta sutercer evento anual de Foot-ball Kick-Off Tailgating Cook-Off el día de hoy de 10 a.m.a 11 p.m. en El Metro Parkand Ride. El evento presenta-rá una competencia de coci-na en categorías de: fajitas,costillitas, brisket sin hueso ycostillas babyback. Tambiénhabrá un concurso sobre co-mer steak. La entrada es de3 dólares por adulto. Las ga-nancias beneficiarán a lasbecas de LULAC No. 14 yfondos necesarios para la co-munidad en general.

LAREDO — La Confe-rencia de la Asociación deEnfermería Avanzada de La-redo es hoy en el EmbassySuites, 110 Calle Del Norte,de 7:30 a.m. a 4:15 p.m.Más información con DoloresV. Rodriguez al 740-4574.

VIERNES 3 DE SEPTIEMBRELAREDO — La Genera-

ción 1975 de Martin HighSchool tendrá su 35ta reu-nión el día de hoy y el sába-do. Más información con Yo-landa Robinson al 286-4627ó Marisela Cervantes al 775-1023.

SÁBADO 4 DE SEPTIEMBRELAREDO — Se llevará

a cabo una venta de librosen la Widener Room de laFirst United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClellandAve., de 8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m.La entrada es gratuita. Tam-bién se acepta la donaciónde libros y revistas.

— Tiempo de Zapata

Agendaen Breve

Ha sido un año difícil para Ta-maulipas.

El verano, una época que permi-tía recibir a turistas y visitantesdel país y el extranjero no atrajola cantidad de personas estimadaspor el Gobierno de Tamaulipas.

Pero en el último año diversosfactores como la contingencia sa-nitaria, la coyuntura económica,las cuestiones de seguridad en elpaís y el Huracán Alex provocaronun decremento significativo tantoen los índices de ocupación, estan-cias y derrama económica, indicaun comunicado de prensa del go-bierno del Estado.

Aunque aún no se dan a cono-cer cifras totales, autoridades hanempezo a analizar nuevas estrate-gias para promocionar a la enti-dad a nivel nacional e internacio-nal, con el objetivo de “fortalecerla imagen de nuestro estado, recu-perar los niveles de ocupación pa-ra vacacionar”, agrega el comuni-cado.

Con este objetivo, la semana pa-sada se reunieron en Ciudad Vic-toria empresarios del sector hote-lero.

Asistieron los representantes delas cinco zonas del estado: de Nue-vo Laredo Santos Jiménez Alejan-

dro, de Tampico Sergio MaldonadoPumarejo, de Victoria Don Anto-nio Carcur Carcur, de MatamorosManuel Villanueva Leegi; de Rey-nosa Omar Elizondo García; el Di-rector General de Promoción Hu-go Garza Gómez y la Directora deFideicomisos de la Secretaria deTurismo Angélica Plascencia Vala-dez.

“(Estamos) unidos para seguiravanzando, ir por los mercadosperdidos para poder enfrentar lascircunstancias que inhiben nues-tra actividad”, dijo Elizondo.

Los inversionistas, reunidos conel Secretario de Turismo de Ta-maulipas Javier Villarreal Terán,reafirmaron su apoyo en las accio-nes de Gobierno para tener un es-tado “competitivo, económico y fa-miliar” y “evaluaron además losíndices de ocupación y expectati-vas del sector”.

Villarreal dijo que se continua-rá brindado apoyo al sector hotele-ro.

Papel de la delincuenciaLa semana pasada, durante el

“Diálogo por la Seguridad, Evalua-ción y Fortalecimiento” con el Pre-sidente Felipe Calderón, el Gober-nador Eugenio Hernández Floresaceptó que la delincuencia les haafectado también.

Dijo que no solamente al turis-mo, sino también a la actividadagropecuaria y a la industria, “algrado tal que ha habido ciudadesque han quedado paralizadas porlos hechos violentos que en ellashan tenido lugar”.

Hernández pidió al GobiernoFederal inyectar recursos adicio-nales para reactivar la economía

de las zonas afectadas.“La afectación económica, igual-

mente, ha impactado en una re-ducción en el flujo de inversión ex-tranjera, por lo que es una urgen-cia diseñar y realizar unacampaña de promoción que mejo-re la imagen del país en el mun-do”, dijo Hernández.

IdeasEn Matamoros, Villanueva dijo

que unas acciones implementadasesta semana son el Tour de visita-das guiadas por la ciudad quecomprende, el Centro Histórico,monumentos, sitios de interés, Pla-ya Bagdad y puerto El Mezquital.

En Tampico, Maldonado explicóque se pondría en marcha un plande promoción tanto en México co-mo en EU en el que personajes re-conocidos destaquen los atractivosy las bondades de la zona.

Otras formas de promoción in-cluirán reforzar la participaciónen las distintas ferias turísticasnacionales e internacionales, colo-cación de espectaculares en dife-rentes estados del país, revistas ypublicaciones especializadas, cam-pañas de relaciones públicas, elmejoramiento de la infraestructu-ra existente, entre otras.

Entidad reactivará al turismoTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

“Es una urgencia diseñar y realizar unacampaña de promoción que mejore laimagen del país en el mundo”.GOBERNADOR DE TAMAULIPAS, EUGENIO HERNÁNDEZ FLORES

NUEVO LAREDO — Si Ustedes de los pacientes que se auto-medican antibióticos para todo ti-po de infecciones, la JurisdicciónSanitaria No. V advierte que apartir del lunes ya no podrá teneracceso a 2,000 de estos medica-mentos sin antes contar con unareceta médica.

Y si alguna farmacia llegara aignorar la restricción, entonces(el negocio) será sujeto a multasque van de 1.000 a 2.000 salariosmínimos.

“El objetivo es evitar resisten-cias bacterianas que provoca elautomedicarse”, dijo el Jefe de laJurisdicción Dr. Jaime Gutiérrez

Serrano. “Debemos cambiar dehábitos”.

Agregó que se desconoce cuálserá el impacto social de la medi-da.

En Tamaulipas existen 2,400farmacias y la Secretaría de Sa-lud se encuentra verificando quese evite la comercialización deantibióticos sin receta médica.

El Comisionado Estatal de Pro-tección contra Riesgos Sanitarios(COEPRIS), Roberto HernándezBáez, explicó que los 2,055 anti-bióticos que fueron publicadospor la Comisión Federal de Pro-tección contra Riesgos Sanitarios(COFEPRIS) para que comerciali-

cen con receta médica, se prescri-ben para proteger las enfermeda-des digestivas, respiratorias y deotro tipo, siempre y cuando seanprescritas por un médico e inclu-so por dermatólogo cuando sonde uso oral o inyectable; y laspresentaciones cutáneas, oftálmi-cas, nasales, óticas, óvulos vagi-nales y supositorios, no requeri-rán de receta médica para su co-mercialización.

Ante el nuevo esquema, em-pleados de farmacias locales hanestado siendo capacitados.

“(Advierten) que si desobede-ciéramos entonces habría sancio-nes económicas”, dijo un emplea-

do en la Farmacia Calderón. “Pe-ro también podríamos perder elempleo”.

Ahora la venta se regirá basa-da en una bitácora, porque losempleados de farmacias anotaránen hojas oficiales a quién le expi-dieron qué tipo de medicamento,y recetado por cuál doctor.

Las sanciones administrativasy económicas podrían superar los880 mil pesos.

Una lista completa de los medi-camentos considerados en laFracción IV del Artículo 226 de laLey General de Salud se puedenencontrar en el portal electrónicode Internet de la COFEPRIS.

Será obligatorio presentar receta médicaEn Tamaulipas existen 2,400 farmacias y la Secretaría de Salud seencuentra verificando que se evite la comercialización deantibióticos sin receta médica.

Se controlará apacientes y farmacias

POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOVTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CD. VICTORIA, México — En el marco de lacelebración del Bicentenario de la Indepen-dencia de México y del Centenario de la Revo-lución Mexicana, el Gobierno de Tamaulipas yel Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Fa-milia (DIF) reconocieron a 70 adultos mayoresde todo el Estado como el “Abuelo Centena-rio”, el 12 de agosto.

“Durante más de cinco años, hemos atrave-sado por múltiples adversidades, como soneconómicas, naturales y sociales, pero en nin-gún momento hemos dejado de trabajar porlos abuelitos”, dijo el gobernador de Tamauli-pas Eugenio Hernández Flores.

“Llegar a este momento de vida, es sin dudatodo un privilegio”, dijo él. “Primero, porque

llegan con lucidez, con ánimo y con un cora-zón joven y segundo, porque llegan, orgullosa-mente, como un homenaje a la vida, toda vezque todos ellos han vivido de cerca los últimoscapítulos de nuestra historia contemporánea”.

En el evento participó la Primera DamaAdriana González de Hernández haciendo en-trega de la medalla conmemorativa mediantela cual se hizo un público reconocimiento alos abuelitos tamaulipecos que cuentan con100 o más años de edad.

Hernández precisó que los abuelitos sonuna prioridad por lo que han hecho y porque“la pirámide poblacional esta girando y en unmomento de esta década que inicia, los adul-tos mayores serán más que los niños menoresde cinco años”.

Durante el evento, el titular del Ejecutivo

Estatal manifestó su beneplácito por la reali-zación de este encuentro realizado en el marcode los 200 años de vida independiente y 100años de la revolución, ya que es la ocasiónpropicia para homenajear a quienes presen-ciaron sucesos que marcaron nuestra historiaregional y la evolución del México moderno.

“Ustedes fueron testigos de cómo los mexi-canos y los tamaulipecos se levantaron contrala tiranía, alzaron su voz y cambiaron cir-cunstancias del destino, así como de la recons-trucción de la vida nacional, la época de desa-rrollo estabilizador y el periodo del milagromexicano, que se prolongó hasta los años se-tenta del siglo pasado, de tal forma que uste-des son un ejemplo y una razón para seguirproyectando al Tamaulipas del siglo 21”, con-cluyó.

En el marco de la conmemoración del Bicentenario de la Independencia, y del Centenario de la Revolución, el Gobierno de Tamaulipas a través del Sistema DIF Estatal, hizoentrega de la medalla Abuelo Centenario a 180 adultos mayores que superan los 100 años de edad. En la gráfica, el Gobernador Eugenio Hernández Flores y su esposa, Sra.Adriana González de Hernández, acompañan a un grupo de abuelitos festejados.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Reconocen y premian a 70 ‘Abuelos Centenarios’TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 21 DE AGOSTO DE 2010

The Transportation Department’s mission is to transport students to and

from school and on extracurricular activities on the safest way possible.

It is our concern to provide a secure and efficient service for all eligible

students. The Transportation Department will have some changes for

this fiscal year 2010-2011 on the school routes due to the new school

boundaries.

Eligible students:

• Reside 2 miles away from their campus

• Reside on a hazardous area (need to cross a 5 lane Highway)

Students that have transferred from one campus to another will not be

eligible for transportation.

Stops have been created for all eligible areas in Zapata and surrounding

areas.

• Students from Pre-k3 thru 5th grade will ride together on the

Elementary routes

• Pre-k3 routes will run: am route; mid day route; pm route; all three

routes will be assigned to the same stops as other grade levels

• Students from 6th grade thru 12th grade will ride together on the

Secondary routes

• All eligible students regardless of grade level will be pick up and

drop off at the assigned bus stops

• Students need to be on the bus stops 5 minutes before pick up

time. For information on times, please call the Transportation

Department.

A reminder to all students:

• No cell phones are allowed inside a school bus

• Any loose items need to be inside a backpack

• No food and drinks are allowed inside a school bus

• Students please follow the 10 rules posted inside the school bus

We ask for students and parents cooperation. Thank you.

For any questions regarding Transportation, please feel to call our office:

956-765-9786 or Patricia A. Gonzalez, Supervisor at 956-847-6703

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

La misión del departamento de Transportación es transportar estudi-antes de y para la escuela además de actividades extras, con la mejorseguridad posible. Nuestro mayor deber es dar un seguro y eficienteservicio a los estudiantes que son elegibles para transportación Esteano escolar 2010-2011 se efectuaran cambios de rutas debido a lasnuevas áreas escolares.

Estudiantes elegibles:• Vivir 2 millas de retirado del campo escolar• Vivir en una área peligrosa (cruzar un camino grande de 5 carriles)

Estudiantes que han requerido un cambio de campo escolar no seránelegibles para transportación.

Se han asignado paradas para el autobús escolar en Zapata y áreasvecinas.

• Estudiantes de Pre-k3 a 5to grado irán juntos en el autobús de escolar elemental

• Las rutas de Pre-k3 van a correr: ruta AM; ruta de media día; ruta PM; todas estas rutas serán asignadas a las mismas paradas igualque los otros grados.

• Estudiantes de 6to a 12e grado irán juntos en el autobús de escolar secundario

• Todos los estudiantes elegibles a pesar de grado se les va levantar y dejar en la parada asignada

• Estudiantes necesitan estar en las paradas del autobús 5 minutos antes del tiempo regular de la parada. Para mas información sobrelos tiempos de las paradas, por favor llame a el departamento deTransportación.

Un recordatorio para todo estudiante:• No se permiten teléfonos celulares dentro de un autobús escolar• Artículos sueltos necesitan estar dentro de la mochila• No se permite comida o bebidas dentro de un autobús escolar• Estudiantes por favor sigan las 10 reglas que están anunciadas

dentro del autobúsPedimos a los estudiantes y los padres su cooperación. MuchasGracias.

Para alguna pregunta de Transportación, por favor llame a nuestra ofici-na: 956-765-9786 o a Patricia A. González, Supervisora al 956-847-6703

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

ZAPATA COUNTYNOTICE OF PUBLICHEARING ON THE

PROPOSED BUDGETFOR FISCAL

YEAR 2010-2011

The Commissioners Court ofZapata County will hold a publichearing on the proposed budgetfor fiscal year 2010-2011.

Date: August 26, 2010Place: Commissioners

CourtroomCounty Courthouse200 East 7th AvenueZapata, Texas

Time: 9:00 A.M.

ALL INTERESTED PERSONSARE INVITED TO ATTEND.

Rosalva GuerraZapata County Judge

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

non-educated. This dis-ease also knows no socialbarriers, as both the poorand the wealthy havebeen afflicted by this dis-ease.”

Over the next fiveyears, the grant will al-low STCADA to test 2,500high-risk individuals,educate 7,500 participantsto prevent HIV infectionsas a result of unprotectedsex, and educate 500 ho-mosexual men in order toprevent HIV infection,said Carlos V. Rodriguez,

STCADA director of HIVprograms.

STCADA also plans tolink HIV positive clientsto medical care, socialservices, and support andincrease awareness of theimportance of being test-ed, he added.

According to Rodri-guez, STCADA will con-tinue to advocate for rou-tine HIV testing amongthe community and in-tends to enhance the re-ferral system among theagencies already working

to decrease the HIV in-fections in Webb County.

STCADA’s ultimategoal is to contribute tobehavioral and socialchange regarding therisks of HIV infections,train key players in thecommunity to help in thefight against HIV/AIDS,and decrease the amountof unaware HIV positiveindividuals, Rodriguezsaid.

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

GRANT Continued from Page 1A

mendations, and/or sug-gestions to the proposedbudget. The second hearingwill be held Sept. 1.

According to Guerra, theproposed budget is availa-ble for anyone, includingthe commissioners, to re-view.

Each department wasasked to cut 20 percent ofits budget and the commis-sioners will then reviewthe budgets and decidewhether further cuts needto be made, said Commis-sioner Jose E. Vela.

“If we are not satisfiedwith this budget, then wecan amend the budget atthe time of adoption,”

Guerra said.According to Vela, the

commissioners will not bemicromanaging the depart-ments and are only askingthey follow the instructionsto reduce 20 percent oftheir budget where theypossibly can.

The county has main-tained a 73 cents tax rateover the last five years and,since the news of the short-fall, the effective tax ratehas been set at 83 cents fornext year’s budget. Raisingthe tax rate has become anoption, despite previouscomments made by com-missioners to make morebudget cuts without having

taxpayers pay more taxes. A higher tax rate will af-

fect everyone, especiallybusinesses in the county,Vela said.

According to Commis-sioner Eddie Martinez,commissioners are nowconsidering a combinationof additional budget cutsand a possible 2- or 3-centincrease in the tax rate.

“Raising taxes meansthat additions to the pro-posed budget will be made.The amount will depend onwhat is being added,”Guerra said.

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

COUNTY Continued from Page 1A

for certain purposes suchas county employee infor-mation, Guerra said.

“The intentions are notfor any wrongdoing but tobe able to acquire certaininformation and make cer-tain types of decisions. I donot believe that only oneperson should be author-ized,” she said. “I do nothave anything against Mr.Salinas. I wish him well.There are more importantissues for me to worryabout.”

Guerra described in-stances where about threeyears ago when she and thepersonnel director were at-tempting to acquire infor-mation on county employ-ees with the potential to re-tire and possibly offer themincentives to do so.

The personnel directorshould be the one respon-

sible for acquiring this typeof information, she added.

After asking the retire-ment agency for informa-tion on those potential reti-rees, they were told onlythe county treasurer wasauthorized.

A minimum of two peo-ple should be authorized toacquire personnel, insur-ance, telephone, and elec-

tric bill information, Guer-ra said.

“The museum does nothave the telephone systemas of yet because we are notauthorized to do so,” shesaid. “This is embarrass-ing, especially for a countyjudge.”

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

DUTIES Continued from Page 1A

Guerra described instances whereabout three years ago when sheand the personnel director wereattempting to acquire informationon county employees with thepotential to retire and possiblyoffer them incentives to do so.

According to ZMS staff,during training they areintroduced to a variety ofactivities to apply in theclassroom to strengthenthe sense of communitywith in the schools.

Last week, as teachersattended the last confer-ence and completed re-quired training, they gotbusy cleaning and begansetting up their class-rooms.

“The process is very te-dious to clean and I’ve hadmy parents, husband, andco-workers help me,” Oli-varez said.

In the midst of an exten-sive preparation process,the district also held a bigrally last week in the com-munity center for facultyand staff in celebration ofsome schools and districtreceiving a “recognized”status by the Texas Educa-tion Agency.

“The ZCISD recognizedrating was the result of thesynergy present in allschools,” said Interim Su-perintendent Norma Gar-cia, Ph. D.

In addition, the reconfig-uration of the elementaryschools has been complet-ed and was intended tomirror as close to a "neigh-borhood schools" model aspossible, like AL Benavideshas, Garcia said.

“They have consistentlybeen successful. The fam-ily/school relationships

that are built through theyears are a very positivefactor that contributes tothe success of children,”she said.

ZMS is still goingthrough some major reno-vations and the staff hasbeen temporarily placed inan older school buildingsince last fall.

The transfer date to thenew building is still un-known, Olivarez said.

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

SCHOOL Continued from Page 1A

“The ZCISD recognized rating wasthe result of the synergy presentin all schools.”INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT NORMA GARCIA, PH. D.

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

WASHINGTON — Morethan a half-billion eggshave been recalled in thenationwide investigation ofa salmonella outbreak thatFriday expanded to in-clude a second Iowa farm.The outbreak has alreadysickened more than 1,000people and the toll of ill-nesses is expected to in-crease.

Iowa’s Hillandale Farmssaid Friday it was recall-ing more than 170 millioneggs after laboratory testsconfirmed salmonella. Thecompany did not say if itsaction was connected tothe recall by Wright Coun-ty Egg, another Iowa farmthat recalled 380 millioneggs earlier this week. Thelatest recall puts the totalnumber of potentiallytainted eggs at about 550million.

FDA spokeswoman PatEl-Hinnawy said the tworecalls are related. Thestrain of salmonella bacte-ria causing the poisoningis the same in both cases,salmonella enteritidis.

Federal officials say it’sone of the largest egg re-calls in recent history.Americans consume about220 million eggs a day,based on industry esti-mates. Iowa is the leadingegg producing state.

The eggs recalled Fridaywere distributed under thebrand names HillandaleFarms, Sunny Farms, Sun-

ny Meadow, WholesomeFarms and West Creek.The new recall applies toeggs sold between Apriland August.

Hillandale said the eggswere distributed to grocerydistribution centers, retailgroceries and food servicecompanies which serviceor are located in fourteenstates, including Arkansas,California, Iowa, Illinois,Indiana, Kansas, Minneso-ta, Missouri, Nebraska,North Dakota, Ohio, SouthDakota, Texas, and Wiscon-sin.

Thoroughly cookingeggs can kill the bacteria.But health officials are rec-ommending people throwaway or return the re-called eggs.

A food safety expert atCornell University in Itha-ca, N.Y., said the source ofthe outbreak could be ro-dents, shipments of con-taminated hens, or taintedfeed. Microbiology profes-sor Patrick McDonoughsaid he was not surprisedto hear about two recallsinvolving different eggcompanies, because in oth-er outbreaks there have al-so been multiple sources.

Both plants could have arodent problem, or bothplants could have gottenhens that were already in-fected, or feed that wascontaminated.

“You need biosecurity ofthe hen house, you want arodent control programand you want to have hensput into that environment

that are salmonella free,”McDonough said.

The salmonella bacteriais not passed from hen tohen, but usually from ro-dent droppings to chick-ens, he added. This strainof bacteria is found insidea chicken’s ovaries, andgets inside an egg.

CDC officials saidThursday that the numberof illnesses related to theoutbreak is expected togrow. That’s because ill-nesses occurring after mid-July may not be reportedyet, said Dr. ChristopherBraden, an epidemiologistwith the federal Centersfor Disease Control.

Almost 2,000 illnessesfrom the strain of salmo-nella linked to both recallswere reported betweenMay and July, almost 1,300more than usual, Bradensaid. No deaths have beenreported. The CDC is con-tinuing to receive informa-tion from state health de-partments as people reporttheir illnesses.

The most commonsymptoms of salmonellaare diarrhea, abdominalcramps and fever withineight hours to 72 hours ofeating a contaminatedproduct. It can be life-threatening, especially tothose with weakened im-mune systems.

The form of salmonellatied to the outbreak can bepassed from chickens thatappear healthy. And itgrows inside eggs, not juston the shell, Braden noted.

A sign warns customers of the recall of certain lots of eggs that had been previously sold at a super-market in Los Angeles, on Thursday. Some 380 million eggs are being recalled in several states due topossible salmonella contamination in a case suspected to have caused hundreds of illnesses. No eggson the shelf at this store were affected by the recall.

Photo by Reed Saxon | AP

Recall expands to morethan half a billion eggs

By MARY CLARE JALONICKASSOCIATED PRESS

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thefuneral for two of the vic-tims of a shooting in Buf-falo turned into a fund-raiser Friday, with reli-gious leaders andmourners contributing toa reward for informationleading police to the gun-man.

The Rev. Darius Prid-gen and his True BethelBaptist Church startedthe fund with $4,000 dur-ing the joint services forShawn-Tia McNeil, 27,and her 32-year-old cou-sin, Tiffany Wilhite. Otherpastors, two funeral homeowners and a host of peo-ple from the packed pewscame forward past thecousins’ white casketsand swelled the amount toaround $20,000.

With some donors wav-ing credit cards, Pridgeninstructed staffers tobring out the church’scard machine to take do-nations.

“If we could take foodstamps I would, too!” saidthe fired-up pastor, whosaid the outpouring wasunexpected and un-planned.

McNeil and Wilhitewere among eight peopleshot, four fatally, outsidethe City Grill about 2:30a.m. Saturday after man-agers, fearful trouble wasstarting, closed the crowd-ed restaurant and madepatrons leave. Police be-lieve more than 100 people

were nearby when some-one opened fire on thecrowd, but witnesses havebeen reluctant to comeforward.

“Somebody knowssomething,” Pridgen saidin announcing the re-ward.

On Thursday, a 25-year-old man reportedly want-ed for questioning aboutthe shooting was arrestedon charges unrelated tothe attack.

Police spokesman Mi-chael DeGeorge con-firmed Friday that StevenTalley was arrested oncharges of burglary andunlawful imprisonment,but DeGeorge declined tocomment on a BuffaloNews report that said po-lice wanted to questionTalley about the gunfireoutside City Grill. Thenews report, which citedunidentified law enforce-ment sources, said policebelieve Talley was at theshooting scene.

Telephone listings forTalley or relatives couldnot be located Friday.

Meanwhile, policeasked witnesses to “exer-cise the courage to comeforward and contact thepolice and help us solvethis case.”

Of the four men wound-ed, one remained hospital-ized Friday. Demario Vass,30, was in critical condi-tion.

Friday’s funeralsmarked the second ofthree days of services forthe dead.

People donate toreward fund

By CAROLYN THOMPSONASSOCIATED PRESS

LUBBOCK, Texas —Two men critically burnedin a West Texas oil field ac-cident didn’t know naturalgas was leaking around thewell and were engulfed byflames after a fireballerupted. The men, whowork for Midland-based Ba-sic Energy Services, Inc.,an oil field services compa-ny, were at the well in asupport capacity, MartinCounty Sheriff John Wood-ward said. The worst burnswere on their faces andhands, he said, and they re-mained in critical condi-tion at a Lubbock hospital.

“These poor guys, theywere in tough shape,”Woodward said. “They’reholding their own. Theygot out of there alive. Thatbumps them up” in theirchances to recover.

The men were identifiedas Abel Garcia and Fernan-do Zamora. Both are intheir early 30s and live inthe area, Woodward said.

Investigators believe thenatural gas leaked fromequipment around the well,but haven’t yet pinpointedthe spot, Woodward said.

The gas got sucked intothe engine air intake of avehicle running at the wellnear Ackerly. The naturalgas vapor ignited and themen were engulfed byflames.

Burnedmen

unaware ofgas leak

By BETSY BLANEYASSOCIATED PRESS

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

The Zapata volleyballteam continued to rollthrough its pre-seasonschedule with an impres-sive 4-1 record, with itsonly loss coming in theseason opener againstNixon.

This morning, the LadyHawks are playing at thePort Isabel tournament af-ter finishing pool playwith San Isidro, Lyford,Santa Rosa and ValleyView.

“The P.I. tournamentwill be a good test to seewhere we stand,” Zapatacoach Rosie Villarrealsaid.

Twenty teams will par-ticipate in the tourna-ment.

On Tuesday night, theLady Hawks picked uptheir fourth win, againstUnited South on the road.

Brandi King and com-pany played at anotherlevel and came away witha hard-earned victory, 28-

26, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18 overthe Lady Panthers.

The Lady Hawk offense,behind King, looked like awell-oiled machine thatkept the United South de-fense busy all night long.

“The girls did well andit was coming down towho made the least mis-takes,” Zapata coach RosieVillarreal said. “Our of-fense looked well but westill need to work on our

VOLLEYBALL

Lady Hawksenjoying hotpre-season

By CLARA SANDOVALZAPATA TIMES “The P.I.

tournamentwill be a goodtest to seewhere westand.”ROSIE VILLARREAL, ZAPATACOACH

See VOLLEYBALL PAGE 2B

WASHINGTON — Afederal grand jury’s in-dictment of pitching greatRoger Clemens for alleg-edly lying to Congressabout his use of steroidsdeals a further blow tobaseball, reinforcing thegame’s image as a sportwhere the use of perform-ance enhancing drugswas widespread.

The six-count indict-ment alleges that one ofthe most dominant pitch-ers of his era obstructed acongressional inquirywith 15 different state-ments made under oath,including denials that hehad ever used steroids orhuman growth hormone.As he did when he testi-fied to a House committeein 2008, the seven-time CyYoung winner denied us-ing the substances againThursday and said he willfight to clear his name.

“I never took HGH orSteroids. And I did not lieto Congress,” Clemenssaid on Twitter. “I lookforward to challengingthe Governments accusa-tions, and hope peoplewill keep an open mind

until trial. I appreciate allthe support I have beengetting. I am happy to fi-nally have my day incourt.”

Clemens is just the lat-est superstar to be en-snared in baseball’s ste-roid scandal. All-timehome run king BarryBonds is scheduled to goon trial in March on

charges of lying to a fed-eral grand jury when hesaid he never knowinglyused performance-en-hancing drugs. SluggerMark McGwire admittedearlier this year to usingsteroids.

Clemens, who turned48 this month, ranksninth on the career listwith 354 victories and

was an 11-time All-Star.During a 23-year careerthat ended in 2007, heplayed for the Boston RedSox, the Toronto BlueJays, the Yankees and theHouston Astros andstruck out 4,672 with alifetime 3.12 ERA.

The rampant use of

MLB

Clemens to fight

This Feb. 13, 2008, file photo shows former New York Yankees baseball pitcher Roger Clemens testi-fying before the House Oversight, and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington.The New York Times reported on its website Thursday that federal authorities have decided to indictRoger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified under oath at a hearingbefore a House committee and contradicted each other about whether Clemens had used thebanned substances.

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

Facedwith

perjuryBy PETE YOST

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See CLEMENS PAGE 2B

Lance Armstrong, facinga federal investigation of al-leged doping, hired formerWhite House special coun-sel Mark Fabiani.

Fabiani, 53, said he hasbeen working since Julywith the cyclists team,headed by Los Angeles at-

torney Bryan Daly. Fabiani,based in La Jolla, Califor-nia, advised former Presi-dent Bill Clinton on politi-cal, media and legal re-sponses to the Whitewaterscandal.

The U.S. Attorneys officein Los Angeles is investi-gating allegations by

CYCLING

In this July 3, 2010 file photo, seven-time Tour de France winnerLance Armstrong strains to take a fourth place during the prologueof the Tour de France in Rotterdam, Netherlands. International cy-cling union chief Pat McQuaid told The Associated Press on thesidelines of the Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday that neither theU.S. federal authorities nor Interpol have asked for anything fromthe UCI. Investigators have contacted sponsors and reportedly for-mer teammates of Armstrong.

Photo by Laurent Rebours | AP

Armstronghires formerW.H. counsel

By NANCY KERCHEVALASSOCIATED PRESS

See ARMSTRONG PAGE 2B

OXNARD, Calif. — On the open-ing drive of their last preseasongame, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensiveline missed enough blocks to get To-ny Romo sacked three times.

Now the Cowboys are about toface a San Diego defense that justblitzed Chicago so often and so wellthat the Bears pulled starter JayCutler earlier than they’d planned.And Dallas will play the Chargerson Saturday night with two backupsstarting on the offensive line.

“I stayed up all night and worriedabout Romo,” coach Wade Phillipssaid. “But I think he’ll be all rightplaying behind a makeshift offensiveline.”

He was being sarcastic. Very. Phillips said Friday that he ex-

pects to use his starters for “prettyclose to a half” against the Char-gers. That includes Montrae Hollandat left guard and newbie RobertBrewster at right tackle.

And Romo at quarterback. “Romo needs to get ready to play,”

Phillips said. “He doesn’t need to sitout the whole preseason. Neitherone of those (starting linemen) is go-ing to be back in the preseason sothe theory of don’t put him in therebecause those two guys are gone,well, then he doesn’t play. He just

NFL

COWBOYS O-LINE ISCAUSE O’ CONCERN

Oakland Raiders line backer Trevor Scott forces a fumble by Dallas Cowboys’ quarterbackTony Romo (9) during the first quarter of the preseason NFL game at Cowboys Stadiumin Arlington, Aug. 12, 2010.

Photo by LM Otero | AP

Wade Phillipsrunning lowon starters

By JAIME ARONASSOCIATED PRESS

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

performance-enhancingdrugs in the 1990s andearly 2000s has been oneof baseball’s worst scan-dals. The indictmentsagainst Clemens raisenew questions aboutwhether the superstar willever be enshrined in thesport’s Hall of Fame —and might instead spendtime in prison.

Clemens also used hislawyer Thursday to insistthat he was telling thetruth.

“Roger is looking for-ward to his day in court,”the athlete’s lawyer, RustyHardin, told a news con-ference. “He is happy thishas finally happened. Wehave known for some timethis was going to happen.We’ll let everything gettaken care of in court.”

Hardin said federalprosecutors made Clem-ens a plea offer but he re-jected it. Hardin declinedto comment on details ofthe proposed plea deal —which ordinarily involvesadmitting to a crime whileavoiding the scenario of amultiple-count indictmentas happened in the Clem-ens case.

Clemens’ case was as-

signed to U.S. DistrictJudge Reggie Walton, whopresided over the perjuryand obstruction trial ofVice President Dick Che-ney’s former chief of staff,I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.No date was set for Clem-ens’ initial court appear-ance.

The former pitcherfaces a combined maxi-mum sentence of 30 yearsin prison and a $1.5 mil-lion fine if convicted onall charges. However, un-der U.S. sentencing guide-lines, he would probablyface no more than 15 to 21months in prison.

Hardin said that al-though many have arguedthat Clemens should sim-ply admit he took steroids,“the problem is nobody ev-er talks about what heshould have done if hedidn’t do it.”

“And he didn’t do it andhe’s adamant about thatand always has been. To-day is just another contin-uing part of that saga,”Hardin said.

Clemens had been prom-inently mentioned in theMitchell Report, MajorLeague Baseball’s own ac-counting of its steroid

problem, and he went toCapitol Hill on his own toclear his name in 2008.

“Let me be clear,” hetold lawmakers. “I havenever taken steroids orHGH.”

What once seemed to bea he-said vs. he-said dis-pute between Clemens andhis former trainer, BrianMcNamee, once the NewYork Yankees’ strengthand conditioning coach,escalated into a federalcase.

Clemens and McNameetestified under oath at the2008 hearing before aHouse committee and con-tradicted each other aboutwhether the pitcher hadused PEDs. The grand ju-ry heard testimony fromMcNamee, who gave feder-al authorities syringes hesaid were used to inject

Clemens with drugs. McNamee has said he

injected Clemens morethan a dozen times withsteroids and HGH from1998 to 2001. Clemens saysMcNamee was lying.

“As far as we’re con-cerned, it’s vindication,”Earl Ward, one of McNa-mee’s attorneys, said ofthe indictment.

Clemens was singledout by name 82 times inthe 409-page report, com-piled by former SenateMajority Leader GeorgeMitchell and released inDecember 2007. Much ofthe information on Clem-ens came from McNamee.

Former MVP Jose Can-seco, who has admittedhis own steroid use andaccused others, was themost-mentioned player inthe Mitchell Report with

105 references. “I am saddened to hear

of the indictment of myfriend and former team-mate, Roger Clemens,”Canseco said in a state-ment through his attor-ney. “I am not aware ofany use of steroids by Rog-er.”

Major League Baseballdid not comment on theindictment. But at leasttwo former teammates ex-pressed support for Clem-ens.

“In my opinion, he’s aHall of Famer. Period,”said New York Yankeesslugger Lance Berkman,who played with Clemensin Houston. “Whateveryou want to say about theguy, he belongs in the Hallof Fame. In my opinion,legacy-wise, I guess that’sup to — I mean, 200 years

from now, who cares? “But in the short term, I

guess, he may have somethings to address,” Berk-man said. “He’s a big boy.He’ll face up to whateverit is. But it doesn’t changemy opinion of him at all.”

Yankees catcher JorgePosada, who played withClemens on two World Se-ries championship teams,said he would back hisformer teammate.

“I’m going to supporthim and I’m going to bebehind him and that’s all Ican say,” Posada said.

Longtime Clemensfriend and teammate An-dy Pettitte told congres-sional investigators thatClemens confided to himthat he had used HGH.

“I believe Andy has mis-heard” the conversation,Clemens responded. Hesaid he had simply men-tioned to Pettitte a TVshow about three oldermen who used HGH to getback their quality of life.

Pettitte was taking partin a charity event afterNew York’s 11-5 win overDetroit at Yankee Stadiumon Thursday and wasn’timmediately commenting,the team said.

CLEMENS Continued from Page 1B

“He is happy this has finally happened. We haveknown for some time this was going to happen. We’lllet everything get taken care of in court.” RUSTY HARDIN, THE ATHLETE’S LAWYER

sits out. That’s the sillypart to me.”

Kyle Kosier and MarcColombo were lost thisweek to knee injuries.Colombo had arthroscopicsurgery and is expectedback within two weeks;certainly by the seasonopener. Kosier doesn’tneed surgery but couldmiss up to the first threegames.

With neither starterback this preseason, Dal-las has little choice but toplug in the replacementsand hope for the best. TheCowboys certainly needthe work. They haven’tscored a touchdown in ei-ther of their preseasongames. The starters haveplayed only 32 snaps,mounting several gooddrives but failing to finishthem.

Of course, there’s a fineline between the benefit oflive action and the risk oflosing Romo to injury. Sothe Cowboys will take pre-cautions. Romo will havefewer seven-step drops,more handoffs and an ex-tra tight end or fullbackhelping Brewster on theright side when they dopass. Sure, that meansthey won’t get a true test

of their offense, but Dallaswasn’t planning to digdeep into the playbookanyway.

Phillips said how longthe starters stay in willdepend on how they’re do-ing. The better they play,the quicker they can havethe night off. Romo’shealth will be considered,too, if the Chargers arefinding their way to himwith ease.

The Cowboys have al-lowed 11 sacks this pre-season. Holland hasn’tplayed because of ahamstring, but he shouldbe OK considering he’smade 48 career starts andplayed 74 games. Brewsteris essentially a rookie be-cause he was injured allof last season, his first.

Rookie linebacker SeanLee and rookie safety Ak-wasi Owusu-Ansah areexpected to make theirpreseason debuts. Owusu-Ansah also will be the pri-mary returner on puntsand kickoffs.

“I think it’ll be impor-tant to see both of them,”Phillips said.

Tight end MartellusBennett also is expectedto play for the first timethis summer.

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B

former teammate FloydLandis that Armstrongused performance-en-hancing drugs during hiscareer that netted him arecord seven straightTour de France wins.Jeff Novitsky, an agentwith the U.S. Food andDrug Administration, isthe lead investigator.Armstrong has deniedever using performance-enhancing substances.

With salmonella caus-ing the recall of 380 mil-lion eggs, Im probablynot the only one wonder-ing right now why theFDA is spending its re-

sources looking into in-ternational bicycle racesthat occurred years ago,Fabiani said in an e-mail.

Fabiani recently waspart of the Washingtonteam working for Gold-man Sachs Group Inc.when executives were be-ing called to testify be-fore congressional com-mittees about the compa-nys part in the sub-primeloan crisis.

He also was hired bythe San Diego Chargersto handle their efforts toconvince taxpayers tobuild a new stadium.

ARMSTRONG Continued from Page 1B

defense.”The Lady Hawks tore

through their own six-team tournament lastweekend, claiming thechampionship trophyamidst the return of Vil-larreal to the sidelinesafter a leave of absenceagainst Nixon.

Zapata won its pooland advanced to bracketplay on Saturday, where,led by King, they defeat-ed C.C. Winn in thechampionship game.

King was named theMost Valuable Player ofthe tournament.

Making the all-tourna-

ment team was Zapata’sSelina Mata, Estella Mo-lina and Kristina De Le-on; C.C. Winn’s VeronicaRodriguez, Miriam Her-nandez and Andrea Gar-cia; Santa Maria’s AidaGonzalez; Crystal City’sHillary Guzman and Fal-furrias’ Sam Patroelj.

Villarreal also saw theemergence of De Leon,junior Shelby Bigler andMolina during the tour-nament.

“Brandi is a big part ofthe team, but Kristina,Shelby and Estella com-pliment her very well,”she said.

VOLLEYBALL Continued from Page 1B

HOUSTON — JohnnyBailey, a record-breakingrunning back in the smallcollege ranks and formerNFL Pro Bowl kick return-er, has died from pancreaticcancer. He was 43.

Texas A&M-Kingsvilleannounced his death Friday.Bailey played for the Divi-sion II school from 1986-89,when it was known as Tex-as A&I University, and be-came the second collegeplayer to run for more than6,000 yards in a career.

“He was quite a top guy,”said Fred Nuesch, who was

the Texas A&I sports infor-mation director during Bai-ley’s college career. “He wasa nice young man and herepresented us well whenev-er he went to different plac-es (to accept his awards).”

Bailey rushed for 6,320yards. At the time, only heand Tony Dorsett at the Uni-versity of Pittsburgh hadrun for more than 6,000yards in a career. He was athree-time NCAA DivisionII player of the year andrunner-up for the award as

a freshman, when he ranfor 2,011 yards. That madehim at the time only thethird college running backto top 2,000 yards in a sea-son.

He rushed for more than200 yards in his first fourcollege games and had atleast 100 yards in his first11. He gained 7,803 all-pur-pose yards, an NCAA careerrecord.

He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall ofFame in 2000.

Bailey played 81 gamesand scored nine touch-downs over six seasons inthe NFL after he was draft-ed by the Chicago Bears in

the ninth round in 1990. Heholds the team’s record forthe longest punt returnwhen as a rookie he tookone back 95 yards for atouchdown.

Bailey also played twoseasons in Phoenix and twowith the Rams, one in LosAngeles and the next whenthe franchise moved to St.Louis.

He made the Pro Bowl in1992 as a return specialistwhen he averaged 13.2 yardsreturning punts for the Car-dinals.

Funeral arrangementswere pending for Bailey,who also starred at HoustonYates High School.

Former Kingsville great diesBy SARAH PORTLOCK

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this undatedfile photo is John-ny Bailey, whodied Friday.

SALT LAKE CITY —The Mountain West isgrowing, the Western Ath-letic Conference is in dan-ger of being whittled awayand BYU is considering go-ing it alone — at least infootball.

The west went wildWednesday in the latestround of conference shuf-fling in college sports.

Fresno State and Nevadaended a day of fast-pacedchange by accepting invita-tions to join the MountainWest Conference, whichhas added three prominentmembers of Western Ath-letic Conference in the lasttwo months.

Boise State is alreadybound for the MWC nextyear and now the Bulldogsand Wolf Pack are follow-ing as well, leaving theWAC’s future in questionand the Mountain West pre-paring for life after Utah —and possibly without BYU,too.

“We’re simply looking atgetting better and we gotbetter tonight with FresnoState and Nevada joiningour league,” MountainWest commissioner CraigThompson said in a confer-ence call Wednesday night.

Thompson spoke afterreturning from a meetingin Philadelphia with Com-cast and CBS officials, whosaid they wanted the leagueand its television network— The Mtn. — to reachmore markets. The leaguestarted the network a fewyears ago, giving up nation-al exposure on ESPN formore scheduling freedom.

“(Expansion) just madelot of sense at this particu-lar juncture. We got betterand we helped our TV posi-tion,” he said.

The MWC also helped itsbargaining position withBYU, which is mulling go-

ing independent in footballand reportedly joining theWAC in all other sports.The Cougars have not con-firmed anything and mayneed another look beforemaking anything official.At this rate, there mightnot be much of a WAC leftto join.

The Mountain West iscovered either way after in-viting Fresno State and Ne-vada to join the leagueWednesday morning andboth schools accepting be-fore the day was over.

“I think people havebeen waiting a long timefor this day. We think it isreally a game changer forus,” Nevada president MiltGlick said. “This is a mo-mentous day for the Uni-versity of Nevada.”

Glick said the WolfPack’s move, which putsNevada in the same leagueas state rival UNLV, wouldeither take effect next yearor in 2012.

Fresno State presidentJohn D. Welty said the Bull-dogs will join the MWC in2011-12, although the Bull-dogs later amended that tosometime in the next twoyears.

Thompson said the latestexpansion wasn’t a pre-emptive strike if BYU doesdecide to leave the confer-ence. Nor was it a way toprevent the Cougars fromleaving, by giving them nowhere to go.

But by adding Nevadaand Fresno State, theMountain West is clearly in

a stronger position with theCougars. Thompson alsosaid the additions will in-crease the conference’schances of earning an auto-matic bid to the BowlChampionship Series,something the MWC hasbeen pushing for in recentyears.

WAC commissioner KarlBenson was out of the of-fice Wednesday and did notimmediately return callsand e-mails seeking com-ment. The WAC announcedBenson will hold a telecon-ference Thursday to ad-dress the losses.

The WAC could be downto six members, two shortof the NCAA requirementfor a conference.

The Mountain Westlured Boise State in earlyJune, but learned less thana week later that Utah wasleaping west to a higher-profile spot in the Pac-10along with Colorado.

So the Pac-10 becomes 12and the Big 12, which alsolost Nebraska to the BigTen, settled at 10 memberswhen Texas agreed to stayand keep the remainingparts of the league intact.

BYU, owned by TheChurch of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints, was leftout of the various realign-ments and athletic directorTom Holmoe said lastmonth that going independ-ent was an option the Cou-gars would consider.

BYU already has its owntelevision network — BYU-TV — which would get the

Cougars out of having toshare the Mountain West’sTV network with theleague’s other eight mem-bers.

“We have a nationalbase. We can go all over thecountry and people can seethat,” Holmoe told report-ers last month. “That is avery important thing to usright now — exposure.”

The Salt Lake Tribunepublished Holmoe’s com-ments on Wednesday afterthe rumors that the Cou-gars were going back to theWAC surfaced, then erupt-ed when somebody appar-ently hacked ColoradoState’s athletics Twitter ac-count and said an an-nouncement was immi-nent.

The Tribune, citing anunidentified WAC source,said BYU’s move was await-ing approval of churchleaders. A church spokes-woman referred calls backto BYU, which released abrief statement late in theday after media relationsworkers were bombardedwith calls and e-mail.

The statement did noth-ing to tone down specula-tion on whether conferencerealignment was reallyback again two months af-ter it appeared settled for atleast a little while.

“BYU has been review-ing, and will continue to ex-plore, every option to ad-vance its athletic pro-gram,” the statement read.“At this point, BYU has nofurther comment.”

WAC gets whacked by realignmentBy DOUG ALDEN

ASSOCIATED PRESS The Salt Lake Tribune published Holmoe’s commentson Wednesday after the rumors that the Cougarswere going back to the WAC surfaced, then eruptedwhen somebody apparently hacked Colorado State’sathletics Twitter account and said an announcementwas imminent.

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

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

OLDER POOCH A GREATPET

Dear Readers: With theeconomy still in the dumps,dogs are being given up allacross the country, so if youare looking to bring one intoyour home, VISIT A SHEL-TER.

While some dogs may beolder, they just might makegreat pets. Older poocheshave many benefits: Most arealready house-trained, andthey are full-grown, so noguessing if they are going toget bigger! Depending on ageand breed, they can be lessactive and are usually morerelaxed. They just may fit in-to your household without alot of fuss.

If you already have a dogor two, the new addition willusually figure out the peck-ing order — unlike a puppy,which may want to run theplace and be Alpha Dog.

When you bring your doghome from a shelter:

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Give it lots of positivereinforcement. Make yournew dog feel safe and lovedin its new home.

Many of these suggestionscame from the American So-ciety for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals, and oth-ers from our Heloise files. --Heloise

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(c)2010 by King FeaturesSyndicate Inc.

HINTS BY | HELOISE

“HELOISE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

PROVO, Utah — BYUand Texas have agreed to ahome-and-home seriesstarting in 2013.

The Longhorns will visitProvo for the first game,then the Cougars will trav-el to Texas for a game in2014. The two schools willplay three times in four

seasons. BYU was alreadyscheduled to play at Texason Sept. 10, 2011.

BYU is 2-0 against Texas,winning a home-and-homeseries in 1987 and ’88.

Horns schedule BYU 2013-14ASSOCIATED PRESS

“All they’ve really toldme so far is that I’ll becoming out of the bull-pen,” he said. “Fine withme.”

Manager Ron Wash-ington said, “Mainlywe’re going to use himagainst lefties. He’s beenoutstanding in Triple-Aagainst lefties.”

Holland was recalledfrom Oklahoma City onWednesday and lost atTampa Bay in his onlystart.

In other news, theRangers intend to activa-te Rich Harden from thedisabled list Monday andstart the right-handerthat night against Min-nesota. Harden wasplaced on the 15-day dis-abled list on Aug. 15, ret-roactive to Aug. 8, withright shoulder tendinitis.

“It feels good now,” hesaid. “I’m ready to go.”

BALTIMORE — TheTexas Rangers recalledleft-hander Michael Kirk-man from OklahomaCity on Friday and op-tioned left-hander DerekHolland to the Triple-Aclub.

Kirkman arrived inBaltimore around 2:15p.m. and immediatelyheaded to Camden Yards,where the Rangers wereto face the Orioles onFriday night.

Kirkman, who hasnever played in the ma-jors, said, “The adrena-line’s pumping in every-thing I do around here.”

The 23-year-old went13-3 with a 3.09 ERA forOklahoma City. He was astarter before moving tothe bullpen on Aug. 13,and will be used by Tex-as as a reliever.

In this file photo Texas Rangers Derek Holland reacts after walk-ing New York Yankees Jerry Hairston Jr. in the second inning atYankee Stadium in New York City on August 26, 2009. Hollandhas been optioned to a Triple-A club in Oklahoma City in ex-change for Michael Kirkman.

Photo by John Angelillo | AP

Rangers makelate season

bullpen movesASSOCIATED PRESSWACO — The best Big 12

Conference player who feware buzzing about is takingsnaps, throwing passes anddashing past defensivebacks every day on Bay-lor’s practice field.

Just about the only thingdifferent about quarterbackRobert Griffin from twoyears ago, when he was afreshman All-American, isthe black brace he’s sport-ing on his surgically re-paired right knee.

Griffin, who missed al-most the entire 2009 sea-son, was limited duringspring workouts. Becauseof that extended absence,attention is being heapedon other quarterback storylines around the Big 12,from Texas A&M’s JerrodJohnson, to Texas’ GarrettGilbert, to Texas Tech’sTaylor Potts and StevenSheffield.

But maybe the chattershould be about Griffin.

“When you get some-thing taken away from you,you respond in (one of) twodifferent ways,” Baylorcoach Art Briles said. “You

pout, complain, sulk, cryand fall into a shell. Or youfight, you grind, you havevision, you have hope andyou work harder than youever have in your life.That’s what Robert’s done.That’s what we knew hewould do.”

Griffin played in onlythree games last fall. Hetore his anterior cruciateligament while running thespeed option in the firstquarter of a 68-13 thrashingof Northwestern State. Hereturned to the game andcompleted 13 of 19 passesfor 226 yards and threetouchdowns before taking aseat at halftime.

The next day, doctors de-termined he had an isolat-ed tear of the ligament, theknee’s lateral stabilizer.Griffin tried to talk themout of surgery, but relentedonce he realized “you needyour ACL.”

He was cleared for fullcontact in July and nolonger needs specific treat-ment on his knee. That’swhy he joins his team-mates in the massive icepools right after workouts,rather than heading to thetraining room for individu-

al treatment. It’s also why his confi-

dence — which never waslacking — has continued tosoar. When asked this weekhow opposing defensesmight defend his abilities,Griffin replied, “Whateverthey plan on doing, they’llbe wrong.”

Griffin’s ability to ad libon the run is what madehim such a special playerhis freshman season. Withlong strides, he glideddown the field, dodgingtacklers on his way to 843rushing yards and 13touchdowns.

He claims that he’s evenfaster now than he was in2008, when he was the Big12’s newcomer of the year.

That year, he led theBears to a win over A&Mand nearly pulled off upsetsof Texas Tech and Missou-ri. He rushed for 101 yardson the road against Texas.

“He just makes (defens-es) look like a pylon,” saidBears offensive tackle Dan-ny Watkins.

Baylor receivers sayGriffin’s arm has gottenstronger and more accu-rate. The 6-foot-2-inch quar-terback has gained 12

pounds, to hit 222. Heworked on the mental as-pect of his game last fallwhile rehabilitating hisknee. As a freshman, Grif-fin set an NCAA record bystarting his career with 209straight attempts (ninegames) without an inter-ception.

“His (injured) kneewasn’t good for him,” saidreceiver Kendall Wright.“But when he got hurt, hegot stronger, physically andmentally.”

And perhaps most im-portant to his team, Grif-fin’s confidence held steadyand has escalated throughthe preseason.

So with Griffin leadingthe team, maybe this willbe the season Baylor willend its woeful streak ofmissed bowls and secure apostseason invitation forthe first time since 1994.

“Anything is possible,”Griffin said. “We don’t puta limit on anything thisteam can do.”

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) is being counted on to lead Baylor to its first bowl game in more than a decade.

AP

On the wings of a GriffinBy SUZANNE HALLIBURTON

ASSOCIATED PRESS