Texas News: August 16-31, 1996

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Texas News Archives (searchable)

• 8/31 - Whitehead Steps Down ... No More Treasurer
• 8/31 - Texas Tourism This Year Better Than Most
• 8/31 - Some Insurance Rates May be Going Up: Insurance rates for Texans covered by Allstate and State Farm insurance companies could be going up under new rates filled Friday at the Texas Department of Insurance.
  
  ....State Farm reported its average rate across Texas will increase by 2.9 percent starting Oct. 29. Individual customers could see lesser increases or no increases based on where the live and their driving records.
• 8/31 - Warden Loses His Job: The warden of a private prison in West Texas where a protest by inmates from Montana and Hawaii earlier this week ended with warning shots being fired has lost his job.
  ....A spokesman for the company that operates the Dickens County Correctional Center in Spur confirmed Friday that George Fry was removed from the position because he did not follow "authorized procedures" and disregarded policy "in a manner not condoned by management."
  ....Larry Young, vice president of The Bobby Ross Group Inc., refused to say what had been done wrong or what company policies had been violated in Fry's handling of the inmate demonstration Monday.
  ....He said the violations dealt with security issues that he could not discuss.
• 8/30 - Heavy Rainfall Finally Makes Impact in State
• 8/30 - Changes in Bingo, Pull-Tab Games Coming
• 8/29 - Abortion Total Down in State of Texas
• 8/29 - Lake J.B. Thomas Near Snyder is 96 Percent Empty
• 8/29 (early) - More Women Join Fort Bliss Suit: Another 18 women have joined a group of five female Fort Bliss employees who have filed a class-action complaint against post officials for sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
  
  ....The 23 current and former civilian employees have complained on behalf of all civilian female workers at the El Paso Army post.
  ....Fort Bliss officials said investigations have shown the complaints to be unfounded.
  ....The allegations are being investigated by the post's higher headquarters, the Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
• 8/29 (early) - Texas Lottery to Offer 'More': Lottery officials have plans to give Texans what they want: more chances to win more money and an option to get that money faster.
  
  ....The Lottery Commission voted 2-0 Wednesday to increase the number of Cash 5 drawings from two to four a week; to allow Lotto players to get their winnings in a lump sum; and increase the number of payments for non-lump sum winners from 20 years to 25 years. Commissioner Harriet Myers was absent.
  ....The changes need final approval from the board. That could come in about a month.
• 8/28 - Inmates Involved in Texas Prison Protest
• 8/28 (early) - Insurance Rates Cut: Texans will save about $460 million in insurance premiums under mandatory rate cuts enacted last year, according to new estimates released Tuesday by the Texas Department of Insurance.
  ....Insurance Commissioner Elton Bomer on Tuesday left unchanged insurance rate rollbacks he ordered to take effect this year. When the rollbacks were ordered last year, as part of sweeping changes to state lawsuit laws, TDI estimated savings of $428.7 million in the first year.
  ....The new estimates are based on insurance rates filed with the department.
  ....Philip Presley, a department staffer, said the projected savings rose mainly because of greater than expected savings in personal automobile coverage.
• 8/28 (early) - Boating-related Deaths Down: Boating-related deaths are down this year, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Tuesday credited its stepped-up boating safety initiative.
  ....The agency said 26 fatalities had been recorded so far this year, compared to 66 in all of 1995.
  ....In addition, more drunken boaters have been taken off the water than ever before, officials said.
  ...."It's safe to say that, since the initiative began, boating safety awareness has increased. It's encouraging to learn that 94 percent of the boaters contacted are in compliance with the law," said Andrew Sansom, the agency's executive director.
  ....The $1.2 million initiative, funded through increased boat registration and titling fees, was designed to generate public awareness of safe boating practices and provide intensive law enforcement efforts on and around the state's busiest lakes.
• 8/27 - Cop is "Straight Shooter" on Radio Show
• 8/27 - Panel Votes to Get Tough on Juvenile Drinking (also see below)
• 8/27 - Juvenile DWI Considerations: Here are some recommendations adopted by the Senate Interim Committee on Juvenile Driving While Intoxicated Laws, to be considered by the 1997 Legislature:
  ....- Create a "zero-tolerance" provision for those who are under the legal drinking age of 21 and found driving with any amount of alcohol in their system.
  ....On a first offense, they would face a fine of up to $500, driver's license suspension for 120 days, community service and an alcohol awareness course. The current blood-alcohol level at which a minor is considered legally intoxicated is 0.07.
  ....- Increase the penalties for other alcohol-related offenses, to include license suspension.
  ....- Raise the punishment for those who buy alcohol for a minor.
  ....- Set up an intermediate license system that would restrict night-time driving by teen-agers.
• 8/26 - Program Teaches Social Skills to Belligerent Preschoolers
• 8/26 - Woman Has Premonition of Own Death: Early this month, Gladys Gaas did something that shocked her friends and family - she gave her top-secret, prize-winning recipe for sausage kolaches to her sister.
  ....She said she knew she soon would die and did not want to take the recipe to her grave.
  ....Mrs. Gaas, 66, who lived in the small ethnic Czech settlement of Frenstat, about 90 miles northwest of Houston, seemed to be in perfect health. But those close to her knew her for her ability to predict deaths in the family and community.
  ...."My mother could tell about when a funeral would be," her son, David Gaas told the Houston Chronicle. "She maybe couldn't tell you who, but she would say there would be a funeral in a few days. And she would be right. I think she had a premonition about her death."
  ....On Aug. 13, less than a week after she shared her recipe, Gladys Gaas was found dead, shot twice in the head. The suspect: her husband of 50 years.
• 8/25 - Dolly Remnants Drench State: Remnant spiral bands from Hurricane Dolly continued to bring scattered showers and thunderstorms over most of Texas on Saturday, with flood warnings in central sections of the state.
  ....While Texas farmers didn't expect a drought-breaker from the rains, they were welcome nevertheless.
  ....Rainfall totals over a two-day period have exceeded two inches in Austin and Corpus Christi. Another 2.20 inches fell at Rockport.
  ....Most rainfall Saturday was west of a line from Wichita Falls through Fort Worth and Waco, the National Weather Service said, with more heavy precipitation extending from Rockport along the middle Gulf coast to Temple.
• 8/25 - No Winner in Lottery: No tickets correctly matched all six numbers drawn Saturday night for the twice-weekly Lotto Texas game, state lottery officials said. The jackpot was worth $18 million.
  
  ....The numbers drawn from a field of 50 were: 8, 12, 13, 20, 35, and 49.
  ....Lottery officials estimate the jackpot for Wednesday night's game will be $25 million.
• 8/24 - Teen Drinks May Face Restrictions
• 8/24 - Dolly Spawns Tornado in South Texas
• 8/24 (early) - Food Stamp Business Eyed: Food stamp recipients may not be alone in feeling the pinch of new welfare reform laws. Grocers who rely on food-stamp business believe they will also bear the brunt of anticipated cuts.
  
  ....The welfare bill signed Thursday by President Clinton restricts the amount of time people can receive benefits unless they are working, or in a work program, and cuts aid for immigrants.
  ....The changes will likely cut into business, especially in the low-income areas, said Jesse Acosta, the city of El Paso's supervisor for urban information systems.
• 8/24 (early) - No Bingo Control for Lottery Commission? The Lottery Commission, which promotes its own games of chance, would not have regulatory control over the charitable bingo industry under a Senate committee's proposal.
  
  ....A special three-member committee on bingo voted 2-1 Thursday to move regulation of charitable bingo from the lottery to the Department of Licensing and Regulation.
  ....The proposal will go before the 1997 Legislature when it convenes in January.
  ....The Licensing and Regulation Department oversees 13 different industries, ranging from elevator safety to boxing.
• 8/23 - More Young Texans Taking College Entrance Exams
• 8/23 (early) - 90,000 Plus Now Carry: More than 90,000 Texans are licensed to carry concealed handguns, according to the Department of Public Safety.
  
  ....The DPS says it had issued 91,501 concealed-carry licenses as of Wednesday. Another 617 people had been denied licenses.
  ....The department on Thursday released its monthly report covering 85,818 licenses issued as of Aug. 1.
  ....The report showed:
  ....- 80,807, or just more than 94 percent of those permits went to white men and women. That could include Hispanics, who are not counted separately.
  ....- White men, including some Hispanics, held 65,607, or 76.5 percent, of the permits.
  ....- Black men and women had 2,566, or nearly 3 percent.
  ....- Black men held 2,239, or 2.6 percent.
• 8/23 (early) - Dolly Gears Up Valley: Even though forecasters predict Tropical Storm Dolly will make landfall hundreds of miles south of here, Rio Grande Valley emergency officials geared up just in case on Thursday.
  
  ....The effects of the storm already were being felt in the form of some much-needed rain. But with Dolly en route to Mexico instead of Texas, hopes of the storm becoming a drought-breaker were washed out.
  ....Dolly was rapidly gaining strength as it traveled across the Gulf of Mexico toward the Mexico coast, where it was scheduled to make landfall as a minimal hurricane Friday afternoon.
• 8/23 (early) - Ag Losses Estimated at $2 Billion: Scattered rains have helped to slightly ease damage projected from the drought. But Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry said Thursday that Texas farmers and ranchers still will suffer more than $2 billion in losses this year.
  
  ....Perry described that hit as a "major blow" to the state's second-largest industry.
  ...."Scattered rain across the state has helped a little, as this latest figure indicates, but many of our producers will still face major income losses," he said.
  ....In late May, Texas agricultural officials had projected the drought's agricultural damage at $2.4 billion and the statewide total at about $6.5 billion.
  ....The Texas Agricultural Extension Service now estimates $2.1 billion in agricultural losses and an overall, statewide economic loss of $5 billion, Perry said.
• 8/23 (early) - Cities Plead for Amtrak: The Texas Eagle just isn't pulling its weight.
  
  ....That was the word Thursday from Amtrak officials, who heard from representatives of 15 cities pleading for the preservation of the passenger rail service that runs from St. Louis to San Antonio.
  ...."We are doing the best we can. Unfortunately, that means we have to make tough decisions," said Mark Cane, president of Amtrak intercity rail operations.
  ....Amtrak, faced with a potential $258 million deficit for 1995, plans to discontinue the Texas Eagle as part of money-saving changes to take effect Nov. 10. The Eagle, which Amtrak says has lost $8.6 million so far in fiscal 1996, currently runs three times a week between Chicago, St. Louis and San Antonio.
• 8/22 - INS Rounds Up 900 Illegal Workers in Austin Area
• 8/22 - Morales Suggests 'Race-Neutral' Guidelines: Attorney General Dan Morales outlined ideas Wednesday that he said will allow Texas' state-supported universities maintain diverse student bodies without resorting to race-based admission policies.
  ....Morales' advice comes nearly two months after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that threw out affirmative action programs at Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana universities.
  ....In a letter to Leonard Rauch, chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board, Morales detailed factors he thinks may be used to consider students for admissions and financial aid.
  ....Morales said universities should consider students' grades and test scores, age, gender, family history, hometown, employment history, military service, socioeconomic history, financial status and personal traits.
• 8/22 - Texas Economy to Grow, Says Sharp: The Texas economy should show moderately strong growth through the next four to six months, Comptroller John Sharp says.
  ....Sharp said Wednesday that his index of leading state economic indicators is up 2.4 percent over last year.
  ....Five of the 10 index components showed double-digit improvement - stock prices, home construction, unemployment claims, consumer confidence and crude oil prices.
• 8/22 - Redistricting Case to Supreme Court: The state's redistricting case returned to the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday after six Texas congressmen appealed a lower court's call for a one-time-only special election plan for 13 redesigned congressional seats.
  ....The six Democrat incumbents from Dallas and Houston want the high court to delay a ruling calling for the redesign and allow elections to proceed under the old voting boundaries.
  ...."No federal court has ever intervened in an election cycle after the primaries, after the runoffs, after both major party conventions," Keith Ellison, an attorney for the Houston-area congressmen, said.
  ....The court-ordered special elections to select congressmen in 13 redrawn districts will coincide with the Nov. 5 presidential election. Runoffs, if needed, are set for Dec. 10.
  ....The appeal, filed by U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Gene Green, Ken Bentsen, John Bryant and Martin Frost, contends it is too far in the election process to redesign districts.
• 8/21 - Tax Break Considered to Guarantee Health Insurance for Children
• 8/21 - Grass Fires in Breckenridge: Two grass fires kept Breckenridge firemen hopping Tuesday.
  
  ....No one was injured and little damage resulted from the fires, one about a half mile west of Hubbard Lake bridge and the other 10 miles east of Breckenridge on Farm Road 207.
  ....Fire Chief Roger McMullen said the first fire burned about 3 acres of grass and damaged the roof of one unit of a storage business. Nothing was damaged inside the building.
  ....While firemen were fighting that fire, the second one was called in. The second fire, which was started at a pump jack, burned 15-20 acres.
  ....The first fire was reported about 12:30 p.m. and the second about 3, McMullen said.
• 8/21 - Arnold New Fire Marshl in Sweetwater: Andy Arnold has been appointed Sweetwater's new fire marshal by City Manager David Maddox.
  
  ....Arnold, whose first day on the job was Monday, replaces Ralph Hendricks who recently took a position with the Victoria Fire Department.
  ....Arnold has worked as a firefighter/paramedic in Sweetwater for 14 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in fire science and is training further as a fire investigator in Abilene.
• 8/21 - Snyder Adopting Water Plan: Snyder residents have been asked to adopt a voluntary watering plan to help conserve water and to ease the strain on the city water treatment plant at peak hours.
  
  ....The City Council has given its approval to the plan, which would designate Monday, Wednesday and Friday as watering days for houses with even numbers and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for those with odd numbers.
  ....Wells are currently supplying water to supplement water from Lake Thomas, where the level had dropped due to the drought.
• 8/20 - Survey Shows Many Texas Roads in Terrible Shape
• 8/20 - Montford to Become Tech's First Chancellor
• 8/20 (early) - Republic Group Contacts U.N.: The Republic of Texas, a group that maintains Texas is an independent nation, has notified the United Nations of its official flag and military insignia.
  
  ....In a letter addressed to "All Nations of the World" and to the U.N. General Assembly, the group said it was following "the law of nations regarding the articles and customs of war" by certifying official symbols of its defense forces.
  ....Members of the Republic of Texas movement contend that the 1845 annexation of Texas by the United States was illegal and that Texas remains an independent nation.
  ....The group's letter, a copy of which was mailed to The Associated Press, was signed by Thomas Ralph Turner, its secretary of defense.
  ....Turner said in a telephone interview Monday that the action was "one of the things that needed to be done in order to gain recognition" from other countries.
• 8/20 (early) - Sharp Wants Tech Included in Telemedicine: Comptroller John Sharp says President Clinton has a perfect opportunity to expand and improve health care in 108 Texas counties.
  
  ....The state comptroller on Monday sent Clinton a letter asking him to include Texas Tech University at Lubbock in a federal telemedicine project.
  ....The program, announced earlier this year, includes five telemedicine programs in five other states.
  ....Telemedicine uses high-resolution computer monitors and phone lines for instant transmission of patient records, X-rays and images of a patient. Many systems allow doctors to visit with and examine patients from distant locations.
• 8/20 (early) - Bridge Jumper Dies: An apparent thrill seeker who jumped from a 50-foot high bridge over the Colorado River near Austin died after being under water for at least 20 minutes.
  
  ....Authorities have not identified the man, who died Sunday. They said he was among three or four people jumping from the bridge.
  ...."I don't believe he was trying to kill himself," said David Belknap, a spokesman for the Austin Fire Department.
  ....Belknap said its not unusual for people to jump off bridges for fun, not realizing the danger.
  ...."It can knock the wind out of you so you have difficulty breathing, and it can also break bones, including your neck if you hit it at a certain angle," he said.
• 8/19 - Collin Street Bakery is Corsicana Fixture
• 8/19 - That Just Wasn't Some Old Flute: This engagement gift was better than just about any ring or stone.
  ....Jennifer Conton's fiance presented her with a porcelain Oriental flute he received earlier this year during a business trip to Beijing, China.
  ....Conton, 28, who recently received a teaching certificate and is looking for a job teaching high school English, pulled the gift from under her bed and took it for a free appraisal at an antique show at the San Antonio Convention Center.
  ....She figured that the gift, in lieu of a traditional engagement ring, might be worth about $500 and that her fiance had paid several hundred dollars for it.
  ....Hardly. She was told the musical instrument probably was made during the Ming dynasty for Emperor Jiajing. If genuine, it could be worth $150,000, said appraiser Leonard Sipiora of El Paso.
  ...."That's amazing! $150,000? That's amazing!" Conton said before she was escorted to her car by two San Antonio police officers. "I guess I won't be keeping it under the bed any more."
  ....The flute will be featured on a Public Broadcasting System series produced by Boston television station WGBH.
• 8/18 - Rankin Administrators to Fight LULAC Lawsuit
• 8/18 - Pedestrians Who Drink and Walk at Risk: One in four pedestrians who die in Texas has been drinking, according to an analysis of accident data.
  
  ....An Austin American-Statesman computer analysis of Texas Department of Public Safety records for 1994 and 1995 also showed that, of adults who were killed and were later tested for alcohol, more than half were drunk.
  ....There were 889 pedestrian deaths statewide over the two-year period, according to the newspaper's Saturday editions.
  ....Of those, 231 of the victims, or 26 percent, had been drinking. In the other cases, the victims had not been drinking or investigators did not know.
  .....Of the 328 victims who were over 15 and were tested for alcohol, 180 - or 55 percent - had a blood alcohol content of 0.10 or higher. Smaller amounts of alcohol were detected in another 13, or 4 percent, of the victims.
  ....Drunken pedestrians killed by sober drivers far outnumbered sober pedestrians killed by drunken drivers.
  .....During the two years, 87 sober pedestrians were run over and killed by drunken drivers and 186 drunken pedestrians were fatally injured by sober drivers. In 45 deaths, both the pedestrian and the driver had been drinking.
• 8/17 (early) - Topless Dancer Plea Bargains: The topless dancer indicted with Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin plea bargained for a sentence of two years of probation for charges of drug possession.
  
  
  ....Police found cocaine in a March 4 search of a motel room that Jasmine Jennipher Nabwangu occupied with another dancer and Irvin. The 21-year-old dancer pleaded no contest to a fourth-degree felony charge of possessing cocaine.
  ....The sentence was adjudicated, which means the conviction will be erased from her record if she successfully completes probation.
  ....Ms. Nabwangu, who is several months pregnant, will be allowed to leave Dallas for her home in Canada, where she has a 4-year-old son.
• 8/17 (early) - Air Force Major Acquitted: An Air Force major accused of having a lesbian affair expressed relief and held firm to her conviction not to publicly discuss her sexual orientation after a military court in San Antonio acquitted her of sodomy.
  
  ...."It's my personal, private life," Maj. Debra L. Meeks said Thursday night after the five-man, two-woman military panel adjourned.
  ....An officer with 19 years of active-duty service, Ms. Meeks declined to discuss her military future. She had been scheduled to retire from the service earlier this year, but the Air Force cancelled those plans.
  ....Ms. Meeks put her head in her hands, slumped into a chair then cried and hugged her lawyers after being acquitted of the sodomy charge and another charge of conduct unbecoming an officer.
  ....That allegation stemmed from a civilian woman's claim that Ms. Meeks threatened her at gunpoint if she told anyone - especially the military - about their relationship. Pamela Dillard testified she and Ms. Meeks engaged in oral sex and had a live-in lesbian affair from 1992-94.
• 8/17 (early) - Cities Fight for Amtrak: Cities along Amtrak lines in Arkansas and Texas say they're gathering steam in their efforts to keep passenger trains rolling between San Antonio and Chicago.
  
  ....An alternate route connecting Little Rock and Dallas to Memphis is possible if the "Texas Eagle" isn't saved.
  ....Amtrak last week said it planned to drop the "Texas Eagle" route Nov. 10 after a $50 million cut in federal subsidies for the upcoming fiscal year.
  ....The "Texas Eagle," which has run through Arkansas since 1974, stops three times a week in Walnut Ridge, Little Rock, Malvern, Arkadelphia and Texarkana. It also stops in 11 cities in Texas, and goes through St. Louis on its way to Chicago.
  ....An assistant to Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey said a meeting has been set for Monday to discuss ways to preserve the route. Another meeting is tentatively set for Aug. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas.
• 8/17 (early) - Texans Can Vote For More Candidates: Texas voters will have more presidential choices in 1996 than at any time in the last 44 years thanks to court rulings that made it easier to get names on the ballot.
  
  ....Six presidential candidates and five political parties will be listed on this year's presidential ballot, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
  ....That's the most since 1952, when the anti-alcohol Prohibition Party joined four other other political parties on the ballot.
  ....This year the choices include the incumbent president and former Senate Majority Leader as well as a quantum physicist, an investment adviser and an as-yet unannounced candidate who have petitioned and sued their way onto the ballot after Ross Perot pushed aside legal roadblocks in 1992.
  ....Democrats and Republicans will be joined by candidates from the Libertarian Party, the Natural Law Party of Texas and the U.S. Taxpayers Party.
• 8/16 - Greenville Rebuilding Projects Kick Off: Two churches that burned in arson fires earlier this year kicked off rebuilding projects at a joint ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday.
  
  ....Members of the New Light House of Prayer and the Church of the Living God gathered at the site where the New Light House will be reconstructed. The church was set ablaze on June 9 and sustained $60,000 in damage.
  ....Hours after that incident, the Church of the Living God was also burned, sustaining $2,000 in damage. That church plans to build a chapel at its current site and incorporate the existing structure.
  ....Mark Anthony Young, 18, has been charged in the burnings. His family and black community activists accuse police of taking advantage of Young's learning disabilities to get him to confess.
• 8/16 - TDCJ Halts 'Pizza Night': Texas prison inmates and their families have become captive consumers for state workers attempting to raise funds for their own training or for pet charities, officials said Thursday.
  
  ....The revelation came as Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials put a speedy halt to a planned Aug. 23 "pizza night" for Estelle Unit inmates in Huntsville that was to help pay for a prison employees' Christmas party.
  ....While the "pizzagate" incident is a first, officials say, it's not uncommon for prison employees to raise cash, ostensibly for causes such as employee training or charities, by targeting inmates and their families.
• 8/16 - Morales After Deadbeat Parents: Texas Attorney General Dan Morales is trying to convince more businesses to submit information on all new employees to help his office collect child support from deadbeat parents.
  
  ....Since the program was enacted by the Texas Legislature in 1993, more than 1,200 Texas businesses have volunteered to turn in the names, addresses and social security numbers of newly hired workers.
  ...."Without greater help from Texas businesses, we will be unable to fully utilize the best enforcement tool we have. We cannot withhold wages if we are unable to determine where these delinquent parents work," Morales said Thursday.
  ...."We absolutely need to see more businesses, more corporations and other private sector entities participating."
  ....Among the big companies that have signed up are Marriott Corp., Bed Bath and Beyond and Continental Airlines.